Chasing the Moon
by YamiYugiPuzzleshipper
Summary: "I would be lost without you. All the stars in the sky could not light the path I wish to travel. I will always travel the path of the moon. No matter your choice, I will always follow. I chase the moon, not the sun." Fairytale/myth two-shot.
1. Part I

**Okay, so I was going for a lighter, more fairytale-like story, but I also used the basis of Native American mythology for the spirits' symbolism.**

 **In mythology, the wolf was considered wise and a very successful hunter and fighter. Many stories featured them teaching hunters the best ways to catch their food as well as solve problems.**

 **The coyote was a trickster either greedy and ambitious with little to no boundaries or more righteous and set to help others. His stories varied and often portrayed him in entirely different lights.**

 **The rabbit was considered a very successful trickster who was faster and wiser than a lot of the other animals but also equated with fertility and alcohol and (I believe) infidelity. The rabbit was mostly featured in stories that involved mimicry, cunning, and helping people to solve problems.**

 **The raven and the fox were both tricksters and extremely cunning and were able to escape almost every consequence that would have come their way. The fox was considered to be the one to bring people fire in some cultures and was able to avoid any negative effects from his decisions. The raven was featured in stories that either praised him as a hero or used him as a representation of sin and negative emotions (gluttony, greed, impatience, etc.).**

 **Since these are the main five animals, I'm only listing them.**

 **Anyways, tell me how I did with the descriptions? I'm still working on finding my footing with the techniques. I have three (possibly four) multi-chapter stories that are going to require a better balance for me to write them without doing them extreme injustices.**

 **Warnings: Mentions of attempted non-con, slight blood, minor death, mentions of death**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Yugioh or sculpture "Question that Devours" in picture done by Beth Cavener.**

Chasing the Moon

Part I

Beyond the woods, deeper than the seas, higher than the tallest of mountain peaks, past the clouds and the ever blue sky, there is the vast expanse of the heavens. There the forests are very thick and dark, the rivers run swift and strong, and so reside the spirits. The heavens stretch endlessly, eternal and ever-changing, with the spirits which guide the normal occurrences of the world beneath. The two exist in isolation from one another, separated by the thin veil of magic which the spirits use to find their paths into the realm of reality at any moment they see fit. It is said that birds are able to touch the barrier but cannot pass through to the realm of spirits. The only creatures with the strength to pass through such powerful magic are those which can wield it themselves. The spirits may tread the worn ways of the realm of reality as necessary but time in the world below must be limited for a being that remains too long becomes attached. Their magic begins to leave them the longer they exist beneath the heavens and cannot be collected to the realm of spirits again, banished only to be returned in death.

A spirit did not dwell in the realm of reality unless it was vital. No one wished to be trapped in the world below, where things were harsh and death was as common as the stir of a breeze. The spirits held with their existence of magic responsibilities bestowed upon them that could not be shunned for something so trivial as a chance to experience the wonders of the world beneath. There was the spirit of the sun, another of the sky, the clouds, storms, wind, lightning, the night sky and the galaxies that existed within it, the moon, and the rivers. Millions of the otherworldly beings worked in coexistence to sustain the world beneath as well as their own expanse of heavens. Balance was always to be upheld for fear of disruption among the two realms.

Few dared to test or alter the order of the realm in which they lived. Spirits that had existed since time had become an entity still held positions higher in the ranks among the heavens. The sky traveled with the sun and the place where its ever-moving territory overlapped with the night was painted with dusk. Beneath thin veils of colors of orange and pink and purple, stars with interwoven layers of silver and gold and white shown as pinpricks of light against growing darkness but lacked existence when against the rays of the sun. They grew and prospered in the night, began to paint the black of the sky with white dust like glittering diamonds. And all of them paled before the beautiful pale face of the moon that shown like a beacon in the encompassing blackness.

The moon spirit had been replaced several centuries before, from the coyote spirit that meddled in the affairs of each entity to the much smaller, more peaceful rabbit. Both animals were said to be tricksters but the current spirit was not malicious as the other had proven to be. Though the coyote remained in the heavens amongst them, it had been given a much lower status, accompanying the spirit of storms as the lightning that forked the skies in sheets of rain. The spirit of the night sky and the moon had been together for much longer in the sense of companionship than they had partnership.

There was no rule against the partnership among the spirits, although this pair was a particularly strange one to many of them. A pure white rabbit had somehow come to subdue a large wolf with fur possessing such darkness that it could drown those gazing upon it. Most of the other heavenly guardians did not bother to heed them attention, yet many thought it was but a simple game of status, and some disapprovingly called it foolish. It was called the latter more often as of late, because the human form of the rabbit was the most seen of him and the wolf remained so clearly in its pelt of never-ending darkness and sparkling stars.

The rabbit sat at the edge of the council table among the other spirits and the wolf was never far behind its partner, and so its deep red eyes were once again settled on the expansion of stone before them. The smaller of the two sat in his human form, a secondary shape shared by each spirit, and his eyes were locked on the show of dancing fire that the raven was putting on before them. Their trek to follow the sun and the morning sky that traveled with it so faithfully had been halted for the moment as the summer months meant longer hours of light and less of darkness. So the two rested, within their own original territory, and awaited the time in which they would have to circle the world beneath with familiar paths so often tread long before.

Relaxation was not something that came to the two easily. And because of its lacking appearance amidst their presences, the wolf became unusually restless and irritable. Though he was not fully paying attention to it, the human boy beside him was well aware, as he could see him twitching in the corner of his eye. His pelt would shift unnatural and occasionally the markings of dark blue, like stunning brushstrokes against the darkness, would shudder forcefully with his inability to remain still. It was distracting when curls of bright red like violent splashes of blood flared as if in warning and then vanished into the darkness as if they had not existed formerly.

But his eyes remained locked mostly on the shimmering orange and yellow objects which burst in his vision like glowing stars. The flames merged and shifted together, flaring with brilliance almost as if to rival the sun, then began to twist and shimmer into new shapes. Before his gaze, as he leaned forward with excitement, they began to pulse and twist into the forms of trees with woven branches like water rippling and frozen into clumps of glittering snow. The shadows jumped and twitched behind them, forming the shape of mountains, brilliant in the manipulation of their shapes as they pulsed with the flare of the flames before them.

The wolf gave him a cautious sideways glance, watching the way the flames danced across his cheeks. His long lashes were like black webs, glittering where the light touched them, and the flames were reflected in their entirety against his irises, merging with the beautiful shades that existed there to make colors almost like the splashes of color which littered his fur. The yellow blended into incandescent gold, shimmering and twisting to become the striking sapphire blue of his irises where his lashes shielded them of the complete display. The violet and amethyst which ran the outer layers there were given splashes of bright red like rubies, and the colors all glimmered and danced like light upon the surface of a pool. The effect of them was amazing to his own eyes and for a moment he could do nothing but stare, hypnotized as the colors splashed together and shimmered as if with glowing with life.

But it did not stop him from feeling the unease that always accompanied the presence of the raven putting such a display to use before them. His ears flicked, listening fully to his partner's soft heartbeat which began to triple in speed with excitement each time the image flickered and danced, changing forms. The gentle breaths which left his slightly parted lips made his own heart shudder and beat faster for a moment. His awe was focused completely on his partner, yet the other did not seem to notice in his admiration of the flames.

"Imori," the wolf growled in a long and slow drawl of the name. His lips curled back briefly as if the use of his voice giving it life left him with a disgusting taste in his mouth. There was a clear but soft, cold ferocity which carried his tone and the spirit beside him was abruptly pulled from his splendorous display to look to the canine. The raven had turned its head and the blackened eyes seemed almost to stare through him, the flames making them look hollow and transparent, as if they were but a mere illusion. The sight of it made his fur rise into a bristle and his shoulders began to tighten minutely beneath his pelt. His lips pulled farther back, his teeth bared to the bird, and the soft wrinkle of his muzzle pushed gently at his eyes to make them narrow in aggression. The flames flickered and danced, lighting the surface of each of his long teeth, casting them in violent spikes of cold gold and gentle russet. "Cease the show. I have grown weary of it."

The other spirit, unlike the many others cast throughout their realm, had yet to ever show its human form and so sat in its sleek plumage of feathers. The head tipped to the side and its beak glimmered, splashing with violent red streaks that faded into bright gold as if the flames had molded themselves to it. "You may have, Atemu," he answered in a deep, reverberating comment that made his throat rumble and the feathers shift before the wolf's eyes, "but your partner has not."

The wolf did not turn to look at the moon spirit beside him. The statement was not something that he had failed to consider before he had thought to open his mouth. He was so easily held in rapture when it came to flames and the images that flickered there, as if the warm lights whispered in his ears and made him unable to look away. Yet, fur bristling and tension building rapidly within his sharp shoulders, he could not find it in himself to appreciate the trait with which he had won his partner's attention several times.

Imori had not been amongst the heavens for summers now, several hundred of which he had been invisible and nonexistent to the rest of them. The fact that he was there to put on displays and watch him with those hollow-looking eyes did nothing but further infuriate him. His placement in their realm now seemed incongruous as the raven spirit had been passing back and forth between the two worlds in an effort to become immune to the loss of his magic. It had failed time and time again, yet the trickster had never given up until mere days before, something that he could not find it in himself to consider inconspicuous.

"To be quite truthful, Imori, I do not _care_ for whether he has tired of it. It is the mere fact that you have found your way _before me_ that angers me so," the canine snapped, baring his teeth and angling his ears forward as his lips pulled further back. His throat was rumbling, the fur rippling along his jugular, as the low snarl began to push out of his lungs. The bristle that he had known to exist along his shoulders solely began to pass forwards and back, the hairs along his neck and towards his tail rising furiously. His teeth glittered and danced with the firelight where it splashed in various hues, flickering and dancing, and his tongue pressed hard against the roof of his mouth. "You seemed so terribly determined to make yourself stronger than us and yet you have _returned_."

"Atemu," his partner whispered softly, his voice gently chiding towards his ferocity as he reached over to touch his braced shoulders. The wolf shivered, a jerky and sporadic movement of fur beneath his fingers. His red eyes shot towards him, the color of them shimmering and speckled with gold, his pupils enlarged in his anger, but then they flickered away again. The hairs quivered beneath his palm again, rising and falling as if they were mimicking the ripple of water in a slow-moving creek, and the snarl was still incredibly low.

"Yes, well, if I could not perfect it in six hundred years, then I shall not now." The raven raised its head so that the plume of its neck flexed and shuddered and its disgruntled tone grew sardonic and harsh. "But, surely _Atemu_ , it matters not the reasons for my return this summer. It is what is done with that time that is of importance, yes?"

He wanted to chomp his teeth but rather let out a shuddering snarl, tapering the noise off, and raised his eyes to the ceiling. The alabaster of the stone overhead glimmered with the weak glow of pitiful orange cast by the flames which sat still within their haven of the hearth next to the bird. The air seemed almost to have thickened and it did not go unnoticed by either the spirit of the night sky or the moon seated beside him. He thought briefly of smoke drifting through the darkness, tendrils that were invisible to his keen eyes, and tossed a look to his partner instead.

"We have much more enjoyable things to occupy our time," he pleaded, flicking an ear to the side and then flattening them against his skull. The bristle fell from his fur but it still shuddered beneath his hand with his open desire to leave. "There are so many more enjoyable things, Yugi."

The lunar spirit blinked at him, surprised, but cast the bird a sideways glance. A small, puzzled frown began to tug at his lips but he dared not show it in front of the trickster whose feathers seemed to glow so vibrantly from where he was perched there. It was not his wish to leave the display, as it was the first time he had ever witnessed one, but he would not make Atemu so uncomfortable as to remain with him there. And the wolf would not leave his side. And the attention that the raven cast him with those obsolete black eyes, appearing bottomless and yet shallow all at once, did nothing to sway his growing unease.

He swore he peered at him as if he were waiting for something. He swore it was as if he was seeking out the perfect moment for whatever it was he so desired.

"Okay, Atemu." He kept his voice light but there was a shiver that threatened to race down his spine. The raven had tipped his long beak towards him, and though he was the larger and more powerful in this form, he still feared it for a moment. His first impulse when he was confronted with trouble was to use his natural form, to run and outwit a threat, but he was the prey of so many animals…including the bird staring at him so openly. As if he sensed his growing distress, the long nose of the raven split open and the edges tugged as if into a wicked smile, making his stomach clench. "Let us retire to our den…"

He was on his feet before he finished the statement. His long, glossy black fur shimmered and trickled with color, featherings of bright royal blue and vibrant red glowing briefly. He was stiff in movement for only a moment because of his former seating arrangement atop the raised stone that served as his seat. He trotted forward only a couple of steps, then spun around to face him fully with his tail parallel to his spine in an affectionate manner he knew would become a wag at any moment. His nails let out a loud clicking noise against the stone and Yugi could feel his heart mirroring it as it always had since he had partnered with the great canine. He pursed his lips as the wolf tilted his head and his tail began to fall in confusion and then got to his own feet and turned on his heel to follow him.

The stone cavern beside them glittered as they moved forward, the wolf's coat giving off both a dark shadow and the striking formations of bright gold and silver and splashes of blue and red. Violet sprinkled the walls in slow flickers of color, shifting and glimmering, and the small formations of crystals cast about the cavern walls reflected it gently against the earth. They shimmered and rippled as if rendered into liquid, and the walls looked almost nonexistent with their touch. Each crystal glowed faintly, as if absorbing the colors the wolf projected to them, and then spat them forward into strange formations that did not match his fur. It was beautiful and mesmerizing, and more than once Yugi had halted at the end of the tunnel to watch him trot forward and then turn around to wait for him to catch up. It was the most captivating thing in the world to him, and nothing compared in any way. Imori's dancing flames could never hold the devotion of which he always found himself watching his partner's fur cast such images across the cavern walls.

The council room behind them was the mere end of the tunnel, where a large slab of stone had been declared their meeting place. The seats were but upraised rocks which each could balance on gracefully and sit around to speak of matters at times. That was not to say that the more important spirits did not get higher stones than that of the others. Atemu's own was larger than many of the others, as he was one of the first spirits to exist and had so become all but a god amongst them. Anzu and Kris, the spirits of the sun and morning sky, and the seasons—the energetic summer Jonouchi, the more docile autumn Mai, the cold winter Seto, and the soft-spoken springtime Miho—held seats just as high as him. The seven of them held more power and leverage than many of the others and were often respected as deities rather than mere spirits.

And he knew that too had to be one of the reasons that so many were upset by their union, whether they ignored it or whispered of it or called it foolish loudly enough for him to hear. It was seen as his own effort to become more important than he truly was, which was so far from the truth of it all that he often could not form the words to argue against them. He was sickened at times because of his own inability, but how was he meant to tell them that he did not desire their attention whatsoever or his new status? He wanted nothing more than to sink away into the shadows and away from their scrutiny. But he was unable to and so he listened to their words and allowed himself to swallow his own dismay at the way they rattled in his ears.

Yugi shook the thought off violently and followed him until they reached the mouth of the cave. The wolf was several steps ahead of him as his eyes flickered across the last of the colors portrayed along the walls. And then he listened to his paws crunching the soft blades of grass and a stone being kicked forward gently when he pushed it aside. The long strands swept across his pale skin like gossamer fingers, gentle and pleasurable as his lover's, and he reveled in the sensation for only a moment. They continued until the trees came in large groves, their roots tangled and jutting from the earth, with branches that stretched forward into the sky which glimmered and pulsed with a silvery vein of magic. It was the core of their heavens, that shimmering spider web of soft light, and no matter where one went, it was there to watch them, to soothe frayed nerves and offer energy to the weakened.

The wolf only paused but for a moment to sniff lightly at a small but well-known, blooming purple flower that made his partner's belly twitch briefly. The meadow was a gentle, almost nonexistent slope of hill between all of the immense forest that seemed to stretch for miles and miles as if the trees were the very foundation of their realm. But at the end of this tiny meadow was a gently rippling creek which was about the size of Atemu's body at its full width but the water shallow and easily waded through. The canine paused in front of him for only a moment, raising his head to run parallel to his spine, and trotted forward across the dappled granite stepping stones that made the passage easier across the water. They were silver, glowing with the same pulsing light from over their heads, as if they too held their heavens together, and the water shimmered where it touched the edges of them. As he watched the wolf landed on the shore opposite of him and continued with a restless pace towards the den that they called home where it resided in the side of the mountain.

Yugi hurried forward and changed to take his true form. The smaller male was much lither and faster where the human lacked the lightness it required to leap across the stones without tripping into the water. Tiny droplets of the shimmering water pushed up at the flanks of each stone but did nothing to even wet his paws as he hopped quickly across to the other side. The white rabbit landed on the soft grass and loose sands of the other bank, twitching his soft pink nose and glancing around twice.

Atemu spun around abruptly. His tail rose as if in a bristle. Yugi tensed for a moment but then relaxed as he plopped down in front of him. His body was pressed into a bow before him, hindquarters high in the air as his tail wagged lazily twice. His long limbs nearly touched his smaller paws, his thick black claws sinking into the earth when he flexed his toes.

Yugi had always been sure never to take his true form around the other spirits. Most of them were predatory and could easily make a snack of him. The spirits grew hungry as easily as the living animals in the realm below though some had adapted to needing as little food as possible in order to survive. Atemu was not one to venture into the realm beneath but had on more than one occasion when his hunger was too much for him to ignore. He would slip away for a handful of hours and then return, belly full and lazy with contentment before they would have to go back to traveling. His meals were large and few between. And he, like many other spirits, would not venture to the other world unless it was for the necessity of food.

But he remembered when he had first been confronted with the task of becoming the spirit of the moon, he had heard of the owl eating the mouse. The spirit of the wildflowers had been replaced quickly, but Yugi had never gotten over his initial fear to stay in his animal form. And, after meeting Atemu for the first time, he had been sure to change into his second form as often as possible. Wolves feasted on rabbits in the world below and Yugi had seen many of his own family plucked in large jaws.

This fear had only grown upon their first few nights together. Atemu had been respectful and polite of him, patient enough to explain to him what was necessary, but he had often given him looks that bordered cold fury and hatred. He had come to know later that it was not he they were directed towards, but his former companion Akefia. The two had fought bitterly, resulting in so much bloodshed and constant tardiness of the sun setting that it had been declared within a meeting that they be separated immediately. He had been civil towards Yugi and even oftentimes he had bordered on genuine kindness, but he had been suspicious as well. And so, between his own fear and the other's reluctance, their first few attempts at working together had been rather weak. Yugi had heard multiple times as well, that Atemu had been mated with the coyote that he had come to replace. And so he had been even more fearful of the new position he had taken, regardless of who said it was but a lie and those who encouraged his state of distress.

The white rabbit had always been sure to stay as far away as he was physically capable without disrupting the balance of both realms. But the wolf had often crossed into his space more than Yugi had ever made the mistake of doing the same with him. He had often engaged him in small talk until he had grown bored and disheartened with the smaller spirit's obvious reluctance.

But still that had held no power to stop him or even slow his attempt at claiming his heart.

He'd been swift to court him in the way of flattery and compassion, showing them so brilliantly that at times his breath had been knocked from his lungs and he would become mesmerized by it all. The spirit of the night sky had often appeared to him in his true form rather than his human guise, later telling him that the wolf was his identity and he would not dismiss it.

The first night he had ever hinted at affection towards him, Yugi had been lying on his stomach and the wolf had taken to sitting beside him. It was during the winter and the nights were so long that they could rest for hours upon hours and not have to race even then to match Anzu and Kris in pace. The younger spirit had been watching the world with fascination as it became dark, the stars beautiful in the depths of the moon's softer beacon. He had been gaping at the image, looking at his own reflection which showed only that of the pale outline of his significance in the world below. He had not even realized that the wolf had been watching him the entire time, seeing his kit-like wonder and growing bolder by the second with his thoughts of courting him. When he had turned his head to open his mouth, the other had been scratching furiously at his fur, so harsh were the movements that his entire body was shuddering. He had been confused at first, until a little white star had fallen from his pelt and landed on the tip of his nose, shimmering with uneven pulses of white and silver and gold that made his heart pound. He had watched in amazement as that little star took on a new shape, growing in size, gentle and warm in color, and began to take the form of a tiny bunny only half of his own size. The rest of the stars that fell from his fur hit the grass in sprays like silver and white rainwater, touching the grass within his reach, giving off soft hints of yellow and silver and white like his fur. He had scurried closer, startled and amazed, and when he had touched it, again the little ball of light had begun to grow larger and then change shape before his eyes. Both of the tiny forms were pale, translucent, with shimmers of silver and gold while their chest pulsated with the perfect formation of bright stars.

He had failed to forget the way that those red eyes had sparkled with amusement and affection as he lowered his mouth to his ear and softly murmured, "Smile, little one. I like it when you smile."

Yugi could not pinpoint the exact night or the moment that he had been unable to resist him any longer and had grown so completely irrevocably close to him. He'd been shy in accepting any of the wolf's attempts before then, though he could not remember if it was that night or one of the later ones. There were so many that the wolf had spent lying beside him, curled up in the soft greenery of their heavenly home with his tail draped over the soft stones that were so often bathed in moss. He would shake and scratch himself until the stars would fall from his pelt at times and then he would watch as Yugi himself jumped and danced amongst them happily, listening to their beautiful song as they lay scattered about him. When he would look over he'd wag his long tail, head on his paws, eyes bright with amusement and something like wonder. Every now and then he would tremble, fighting off wide smiles so as not to scare him when he showed his teeth, and would press his chin further into the grass.

It could have been the night that he was dancing about and the little white bunnies were following him every step. Atemu had remained laying on that stretch of grass, tail over the edge, eyes locked on them with that same fond and wondrous expression. When he would wag his tail, it thumped heavily against the soft dirt. And whenever Yugi would pause to look at him, the other would tremble and flatten himself harder against the ground. He had paused after hopping and twisting in the air, the little stars following his lead, and glanced over at him more pointedly. The wolf failed to move then as he had each time before. But his tail thumped heavily and he was trembling harder than ever the longer he stared. At some point he had seemed almost as if he could not do more than shake before him, tail still wagging erratically. At first he had feared he was somehow cold despite his long coat as he himself was very warm. Then it occurred to him when he abruptly threw his head back and let out a loud, beautiful howl that he had been trying his hardest not to scare him by jumping in to join him.

Or maybe it was the night that he had taken a seat in the middle of the shallow pool to study his reflection. Atemu had wandered ahead for a few minutes and so had left him there to see himself as he looked from the world below. He had been so engrossed in the gentle shade of white and silver and the splotched shape of dark gray that made his own form of a rabbit seated on his haunches that he had almost missed his approach. He'd come from the side, curious as he watched him, and then he had circled him and asked, "Do you see that? There are no stars in the sky tonight."

Yugi had promptly raised his head, confused and concerned, finding that the other had completely shed them from his pelt again. But they were not around them for him to dance with and the little ones were long gone from sight. Only on his forehead was a bright pulsating red star, the core of his status as a spirit and the embodiment of the night sky. As he had watched it, the outer edges had grown blue and violet, then golden and white before becoming red again, the colors alternating in slow movements. But his eyes had lacked their usual luster, though they shone with specks of something that had still managed to make him shiver. The wolf had circled him again, lowering his head slightly, and then growled quietly, "The galaxies orbit your soul tonight, little moon."

Yugi had been drowning in the gleam that his eyes had held that night as they took in his much smaller form. He had not had to glance at himself to see the constellations stretched over his white pelt, beautifully lit and making his entire body shine brilliantly in the wolf's dark gaze. And then he'd noticed the smaller rabbits, taking form at his feet and peering at him with that same beautiful web of glistening white and silver-blue, the thin traces of bright gold.

"I want nothing more than to trace the birth marks like constellations on your skin. I long to explore all of you, Yugi. You hold my entire universe—all that I know and adore—within your heart, little rabbit."

He was familiar with the bright look to his eyes as he pressed his chin against the ground and growled softly. His tail was still wagging gently, his ears flattening against his head. He growled a little louder, narrowing his hypnotizing gaze. Yugi twitched his nose and hurried forward to weave his way beneath the canine lest Atemu get his jaws on him and carry him like he always made a game of. The canine dodged immediately to the right, leaping away. His longer legs carried him much farther than Yugi could recover. The rabbit wrinkled his nose again, watching him. The wolf had only ever managed to catch him once as the rabbit had proven himself his equal in wisdom and play. If Yugi could get to the den Atemu had made his home or slip beneath him and pretend to be his shadow, he would win. If the wolf could catch so much as a hair from his pristine white pelt he would be victorious.

"Not so fast," the wolf chided playfully, wagging his tail again as he watched him with those same vibrant red eyes. He fell into a bow once more and his entire rump waved furiously with the exuberance he displayed before him.

Yugi perched himself on his haunches, stretching his nimble form out. "I was close," he murmured teasingly, twitching his nose again before thumping his right foot against the ground for a moment. "All it would have taken was another step and I would have won."

"That would be far too easy, however, don't you agree, Yugi?" The wolf lunged at him as the last word left his mouth. The speed with which he propelled himself made the rabbit panic for a split second. He was frozen for all of a breath. Then he jumped away. He sprang forward once more, spinning around. The wolf landed gracefully where he had been. The rabbit's ears and tail twitched furiously in anticipation. "So I assume my shadow is your goal."

"And yours is more than just a hair from my pelt." He bolted immediately. Atemu shot forward. His longer legs propelled him without difficulty. Yugi sprinted and leaped. The movement was teasing, a dance in his running steps. The wolf followed faithfully behind him. He was closing in rapidly. Yugi zigzagged. The other spirit skidded before changing direction. He huffed loudly and the rabbit snickered.

For all of the length in the canine's slender legs, he could not maneuver as quickly. But that would not slow him down, the lunar spirit knew.

He led him twice across the creek. The wolf's nails slid and grated against the smooth stone. Then he sprinted back again. He circled a small grove of trees thrice, leading skillfully. Then he spun to dash across the water again. But the wolf shot forward from the other side. Yugi squeaked in shock. He dashed for his legs as his teeth closed.

He fell limp in his jaws. His tail twitched uncomfortably.

The canine panted and wagged his tail happily.

"I win, little moon," he announced. His tongue brushed the bottom of his soft tummy and Yugi squirmed. The smaller huffed quietly but allowed him to trot forward a few paces with him in his mouth. He knew that it was mostly for his own purpose of entertainment while for others it was a play at power. Some of the rumors still surfaced about Akefia being Atemu's before him, and the wolf would make a show of being around him at times. He made it very clear without words that he cared for Yugi, that the lunar spirit was his alone. "I told you I could keep up."

"You cheated. I thought you were chasing me around the trees," the rabbit sulked, shooting him a playful glare with wide blue-violet eyes. "You were supposed to _chase_ , not take shortcuts, Atemu!"

"We never set such rules in stone," the wolf laughed happily, placing him on the ground for a moment. He panted, wagging his tail, and glanced around quickly. Yugi cast a small look at their surroundings as well, sniffing and jumping in surprise when the other plopped down noisily beside him. He gathered him in his mouth again, the touch so light and gentle that he almost could not feel it. But he knew how firm the grip was regardless, as he had struggled against it once to prolong their game and had been unable to do anything more than stretch his legs and glare at him. He was dropped gently in between his paws and before he could think to try to run away, a long pink tongue glided over his soft cheek. "And you were aware as I that I would win."

"You cheat," Yugi snorted, allowing him to stroke his fur clean where some mud from the banks and small patches of water weighed the white strands. He hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to phrase such a question. He struggled, flexing his toes, then resisted the urge to thump his right leg again. When he could think of nothing else to say, he asked, "Can we go to the gardens instead?"

Atemu's gentle tongue paused. "The gardens?" he echoed softly, nipping his ear to get a particularly rough patch of dried mud that coated it there. His paw came to rest on his back, holding him in place so that he could angle his jaws and clip the thin white hair. "You wish to see the lunar roses during the daytime?"

"Yes. I have yet to see them at this time of day," the lunar spirit pleaded, turning his head to gaze at him with wide, hopeful blue-violet eyes. He bunched his paws under his chest more comfortably and watched him. The large canine tilted his head curiously, watching him with an expression that spoke of open confusion.

"But…there is nothing to be seen within the sunlight," he murmured softly, perplexed. His tail curled briefly around his right hind leg and his ears flicked back and forth for a moment as he picked his words carefully. He tilted his head further, confused, and peered at him with those brightened red eyes. "They simply…sleep now. Why would you have any desire to see flowers sleep?"

"All right, but what about Mist and Dewdrop and Song and Cloud and Clover and Luna?"

The black wolf was frozen, eyes widening drastically in confusion as he blinked and then laughed. "Ah, the fallen stars," he chuckled, looking at him warmly and wagging his tail slowly in amusement. "I had not known that they had been given names."

Yugi wiggled his tail and squirmed out from beneath his paw to lay his own across the wolf's chest and press his nose to the canine's. "Of course I did! They are our _children_ , Atemu!"

Atemu snorted softly and licked his chin affectionately, rising to his feet a moment later. He had never come to consider them as his children so much as he thought them to be his own flesh given a new form. But he knew it did not matter. "Mist, Dewdrop, Song, Cloud, Clover and Luna," he repeated, drawing each name out slowly and surely and tipping his head to the side. They curled along his tongue comfortably and his eyes grew somehow warmer as his tail wagged and he shook his head. "I shall endeavor to remember them."

"Mm," the moon spirit hummed, blinking curiously as he allowed him to grab him in his jaws once more. Atemu moved in a trot that made him twitch as his eyes widened briefly and he thought of the parade wolves sometimes performed in the other realm as they carried prey. He knew that the spirit of the night sky had done the very same several times in the realm below but never once had he been in his mouth. The parade seemed to be used for more than just one occasion but Yugi had never witnessed it outside of when he had finally accepted Atemu's attempts at courtship.

He still remembered the way he had thrown his head back and howled once before wagging his tail furiously. He had bounced back and forth on his paws. He'd kneaded the earth and trembled with exuberance. He had trotted back and forth around him for a few minutes. And he watched him, trembling himself with affection, as the other danced around him and howled a little louder. He was shocked, mystified, but had watched Atemu repeat himself thrice more and then settle enough to sit and speak with him. He had been unable to stop his own trembling, red eyes wide and mouth open in a grin that made the smaller spirit twitch his nose. His paws continued to knead at the ground in his excitement, but he had not danced around him anymore nor did he howl as he had before. He knew from watching that wolves in the realm below tended to wag their tails and jump from one forelimb to the next with happiness, their joy too much to contain. He had never witnessed them dance around as Atemu had, but he had seen them enough times to know what they were.

The garden was nestled in the clearing nearest their den, where the earth was flatter but rolled gently on the edges and fell into the trees once more. The grass was lower, softer, and the ground which the flowers themselves rested was a light almost silver grain like sand under moonlight. It was the magic, he knew, that kept the color so constant, and at night it glowed a soft but beautiful blue almost like cobalt.

The flowers were a mixture, buds of glorious silken white and the same shade of the morning sky. Amongst them were silver and gold, both of which stretched open beneath the moon and then folded into nothing in the sun. Each rose in large clumps amongst much longer blades of grass, which spiked upwards in sharp dark green like secluded clouds to pepper the silver soil. Yugi had come to know each of these flowers, enjoying the symbolism of the red-eyed wolf's affection.

From what he had come to know was that his partner had decided, despite his reluctance to venture to the world beneath, to make his way there to gather some freshly-bloomed roses. He had placed his own magic within them, giving them the same pulsing of white and silver and gold within their cores that each star in his pelt possessed. Planted in clumps in the earth that he had molded to his own desire, he had become indebted to the spirits of rain and spring in order to grow them properly to the form he desired. The first time Yugi had set foot within the garden, he had easily become overwhelmed, stunned when they revealed themselves before his eyes as Atemu manipulated their surroundings just enough to influence the sky. It had been the very first time he had taken his true form in front of the canine, prancing about the stalks of growth as the wolf settled a few feet away and watched him.

Atemu set the small rabbit on the soft grass, stretching himself out lazily as Yugi pressed his nose once to his and then took off to look at the folded blooms. The roses immediately before him were a shiny white that looked almost like peaceful water beneath the sunlight and the gleam they gave off made him turn his eyes away for a moment. His mate was about the size of one of the blooms when it opened to its fullest, and it stood at the height of his nose to the tips of his long ears. The dark green of the grass was deep and rich, and it reminded him of summer beneath the hottest of suns, though he would never admit such a thing to his partner. He hated the harsh heat of such weather and, as many of his species in the world below, relished in the chill of the winter when his fur was long and beautiful and moved like water upon his muscles.

He rolled onto his side lazily, stretching his legs out fully, and watched Yugi glance at him before wrinkling his nose and then disappearing into one of the large bushes of deep green. The roses continued to glisten and dance as if a wind had crossed through the area, but Atemu felt nothing stroke his fur as he closed his eyes halfway, waiting. With his ear pressed against the earth, he felt rather than heard their children come racing from the other bunches of flowers towards him. They must have greeted Yugi in the meantime, as they usually stuck to his side more than the wolf's for obvious reasons, and now burst forth like water breaking over stone after a long winter.

They were mute as they came forth and sprang upon him, climbing eagerly onto his fur and squeezing between his forelimbs to brush against his chest affectionately. One of them stopped to listen to his heartbeat, he knew, and he kept his eyes half-open at the pleasant sensation of them squeezing out from between his legs again before running to his face. They each brushed noses with him, and one of them wiggled and sneezed so softly that he snorted in amusement and reached a paw out to push it away gently. The others pressed small licks to his ears and he rolled himself onto his stomach to give them more room to run across his back as they were always so eager to do.

Lowering his head to his paws, he allowed them to jump onto his shoulders, burrowing their faces into the scruff of his neck and breathing pleasant whispers of air against his skin. He wagged his tail faintly at the sensation, loving it as he always had, and watched as Yugi continued darting about the thick fronds of grass. He eventually emerged long enough to poke his head out and look at them, eyes bright with laughter and affection, before he turned once more and disappeared into the greenery.

The hour of relaxation that the wolf had been hopeful to spend in their den, cuddling or making love, passed easily. The fallen stars had begun nibbling gently at his ears, occasionally causing him to bat them away with his paws, though their endless fascination with the thick fur inside of the cartilage brought them quickly back. When they grew to be too persistent he would roll onto his belly and toss his head to the side so that they fell away. Then he would bat them aside gently, growling eagerly when they grew to be too rambunctious, so that they ran away quickly and then raced back. Laying stretched on his side comfortably he shifted his tail so that they might jump over and away from the long appendage, using it as a starting line for their newest games. He was issued the obvious judge but their names were lost to him and so he simply declared them all victors, licking each of them on the forehead and ignoring the urge to watch Yugi instead. His younger lover came to him and all of them fled his side in favor of him, rubbing against him and earning nuzzles in return. Then they hurried into the garden's plants again and the two spirits made their way along for their nightly rounds.

As such the night went without any incidents. He and the red-eyed teen traveled the expanse of the heavens used to influence the world beneath them. They moved as they always did on summer nights, the rabbit at his sides, his pawsteps spreading the passage of nighttime through the sky. Ahead of them they knew Anzu and Kris were treading their own paths. The cycle of day and night, sun and moon, was endless and so the breaks that came with each season were especially coveted. Summer and winter were the only times that the two nighttime spirits managed to have time together without the threat of interruption.

The length of these nights was too long or too short, demanding more leniencies between the four of them. These times allowed them more room to relax, though they were still required to keep moving as the passage of time in the world below was constant. Naps were few and far between for the two of them, but with time Yugi had grown to embrace such sleeplessness and keep himself entertained with the presence of his companion. The other spirit had long since mastered the necessity of napping only when the sun was out, when Anzu and Kris were ready for him to continue moving about. But sometimes even he had slipped up in his timely responses. The rabbit had only realized he was not with him those few times when he had come to find that the stars were not blanketed beneath him and the blackness of the night was still pale blue. When he had gotten Atemu awake and running to catch up with his mistake, only then had he been given the knowledge of the harassment of the former moon spirit. Akefia had been rambunctious and wild, hard to contain among the heavens, still a being of absolute mayhem.

Yugi curled up with Atemu wrapped around him, snuggling comfortably into his side as his flanks moved gently with his even breathing. The black tail draped over his side and his cheek pressed against his gently. The den around them was a solid gray color from so long being exposed to their combined magic, the walls obviously scratched into place by the canine himself. There were still gentle grooves in smaller areas of the little space, making it clear that he had both sought it out and created it. The smaller spirit again found the solace he had grown so familiar with but always wistful of the moment they departed. The walls had become warm and beautiful in shade, pulsating with silver and white light that was overlapped with bright golden weaves that changed into bright blue and long tendrils of smoky red-violet. Each constellation rose and fell with his steady breathing, weak before the light of the moon but displayed easily when the wolf was curled up alone.

He spent a few minutes tracing the constellations on the walls as he did when he could not sleep, listening to the wolf's even breathing. He could feel his fur tugged and blown with the easy movements, and he knew immediately that the other was fast asleep. He looked at the familiar bunny shape there on the wall, a constellation of his own that he had drawn onto the other's pelt to make it look as if it were himself sitting back on his haunches. He had drawn the other into the image as well, so that Atemu was standing next to him, wagging his tail with his head lowered as if to sniff him. The design was so familiar that it made every little ache from whatever restless nights fade away into nothingness. It was even able to take the sting away when someone hissed at him that Akefia had been with Atemu first, that he was but a mere replacement who had not earned his place.

The moon spirit woke up alone but a deep breath revealed that it had not been so for long. The light, airy water and ice scent that made that of the wolf spirit's pelt was strong and the body warmth he offered still heated the stone around him. Atemu had possibly wandered off to hunt or get a drink of water and had not wished to disturb him. Yugi stretched himself out as completely as he could, then flinched. His left back leg ached with the movement. He looked the little limb over, finding only the smallest of mixtures to pronounce blood and dirt. He could not remember anything to happen to cause such a thing, nor did he recall waking up at any point.

He pressed his nose into the fur, separating it easily, and breathed in deeply. It was his own blood, but he couldn't identify what might have grabbed him. It was obvious, however, that something had, for the puncture wound was nothing he would have gotten otherwise. It looked small, though, he thought with wonder, curious. It was nothing that his partner would have made, as his teeth were too large and his grip always too gentle when he grabbed him into his jaws.

Yugi shook it off and padded outside of the den a few small steps, sniffing for any sign of danger, and spotted a small pool of blood but nothing else. He hesitated, flattening himself against the ground, and listened for a long moment before quickly taking his second form. The ache in his leg eased somewhat and the puncture wound looked like nothing more than a mere scratch given to him by a rosebush's thorns. He looked around uncomfortably, however, feeling uneasy as he continued forward. Whatever had come about, it seemed clear to him that Atemu had taken to the task of discovering more information or simply rectifying whatever the problem was. And he did not have a reason to worry as long as the wolf did so.

He picked his way into the direction of the gardens, comforted by the idea of seeing their children when he could not his partner. He listened closely, awaiting any noise that might alert him of his lover returning to his side. He paused, tilted his head, and hoped for the hint of a howl or the booming huff of a bark that he sometimes let out in greeting after a hunt. A small feeling of foreboding was creeping upon him, settling as the silence seemed to press into his body and smother any touch of comfort he had so desperately desired. He moved forward, for a moment thinking to take his true form and press himself as low to the ground as possible, and his eyes flickered about. He froze, horror making his entire body tremble.

His gaze had fallen upon the lunar roses. The once bright white and blue of each bud had been pulled and completely crushed. He blinked, horrified still, and noted that some had been uprooted. Others had been cut and ripped apart at the stem by teeth. Tendrils of white were smothered by dark brown and reddish smudges from the collision with the earth. Blades of grass had been visibly clawed and tossed about. Most of the dirt had been trodden over, shifted beneath someone's paws. The heavy smell of blood and semen and sweat made his head spin.

He remained frozen in place, listening harder. But the human's weaker senses made it harder to catch anything. He cautiously turned his head, still straining his ears. Anxiety began to build in his belly. No one was meant to know of the garden—or their den, for that matter—but he and Atemu himself. And, despite his weak senses, all he knew this smell to be, so undeniable in either form, was that of his partner. He could scent his blood, his semen, his sweat. It was all him. The thought made his body quiver. He paused, breathing in deeply, and attempted to sort through the various scents which lashed out at him suddenly. He could smell someone else, weakly, and then powerfully. He had only run across this smell several scattered times in his life.

Akefia was kept away from him aside from meetings amongst the spirits. The occasional statement was swapped, nasty and cynical, and utterly crushed when Atemu snarled at him. Yugi had never once been completely alone with him before. His partner had never allowed it. He found every excuse possible to be at his side should the other be nearby. He was careful. He kept him away from the other spirit at all costs. The wolf had placed himself between them more often than not, snarling and bristling in clear warning, guarding Yugi as if he were the most precious thing in his existence. Only once had Akefia drifted close enough that he had been lunged at, dancing away and laughing in delight when Atemu missed.

Yugi shook away the thought to take to the task of checking on the other occupants of the garden. He was a rabbit once more within an instant. He darted along swiftly, then ducked his nose down to sniff. His nails dug into the earth with the anxiety that coursed through him. It was the only thing that kept him glued there rather than allowing him to flee. He sniffed deeply, breathing in harshly and wishing his nose was as strong as his partner's. The wolf had always amazed him with his ability to catch even the smallest scent of something or other. But the only thing that he himself could smell was so much more blood, hot and sticky and disgustingly sweet. He dashed about, looking for any signs of them. Then he recoiled and took to his second shape.

His and Atemu's children…

They had been ripped open. Small tuffs of white fur were all that was left, the rest bathed in red blood. The puncture wounds were long and deep. And the way the fur was tossed about the area spoke of a canine. He recognized the kill form. Many times in the world below he had come across these scraps. It was not uncommon. A canine could easily be deterred from their meal if a larger predator came along.

" _No_ …"

How had this happened?

"Humph. So then he has abandoned you."

Yugi was so pain-stricken by the sight before him that he almost missed the words. For a moment he could not look away. His eyes were wide, horrified, and his mouth had opened in a low moan once more. He blinked, resisting a shiver. Then he glanced slowly over his shoulder. The canine stood a few feet away, with a long and narrow snout that made him look even more devious. He was almost the size of Atemu, however, unusually large in build, but his form was more slender. And his pelt did not share the same gleam or vibrant darkness. Instead his was tawny beneath, with white around the face and cinnamon along the bridge of his long nose, and red ears that flicked every which way. His tail was shorter, his paws straighter, and the black and silver along his brows and back looked unnaturally unruly.

"Akefia," he mumbled, his distress making him nearly unable to hear and understand his own words, "what do you want?"

"I merely came to check on you and Atemu," the coyote stated simply. His ears flicked and pricked forward. His eyes darted to the limp forms at Yugi's feet. Then he laughed loudly and looked up. His jaws opened wide to show his teeth but the other did not shudder. He had seen Atemu's teeth many times. He opened his mouth completely when he yawned. If he had wanted, he could have stuck his entire body the length of those massive black jaws and still had room before his teeth closed around him. Akefia's sharp and narrow muzzle held nothing for him to fear. "I suppose he was not trying to fool me then."

"What?"

Akefia stayed silent for a long minute, then changed into his human form. Yugi did not bother to look at him again. His eyes shot back to the bodies of his and Atemu's children. The former moon spirit's white hair and sharp purple eyes annoyed him. Even after all the time he had spent as a lightning spirit, he still retained some of what had made him the moon before. He knew it was simply because of his position as the moon spirit for long before him. But it only reminded him more and more of the rumors and the fact that he had only been brought to the spirit realm to replace him.

"He has such passion, does he not?" the older spirit purred, lips twisting up into a smug smirk. The other spirit did nothing but stare at the ground before him. "He said I mustn't tell you. But that, which you see before you, is the effect of our lovemaking."

His head turned immediately, his breath stolen from his lungs. Angrily he blinked at him, then shook his head sharply. "Atemu has never even _glanced_ upon you," he spat coldly, narrowing his eyes. "You are lying, trickster."

"Am I? You might think to wonder if you are just far too blind, Yugi. The night is said to cast a powerful spell upon any beneath it," the silver-haired boy whispered silkily, smirk growing. "I would not doubt you have been ensnared by it. After all, what is the moon without the night sky? You are nonexistent within the light. It takes the darkness to give you value."

He fought back a flinch. "Just as it takes the storm clouds to give you any form," he snarled softly. "Lightning is nothing without the clouds to carry it. And you are a fool if you consider it otherwise."

Akefia bristled visibly, annoyance sparking in his eyes. "Surely even in this weak form you must _smell_ it. It still taints the air if you give way to your second skin," he hissed, smirking when Yugi faltered noticeably as his eyes widened. "Ah, so I see you _did_ come upon it when you entered the garden. Was it hard knowing that I have been inside of your precious little night sky?"

The smaller spirit recoiled sharply and glanced at the crushed lunar roses at his feet. He had smelled them. He had smelled their essences, intermingled with Atemu's blood and the sharp musky scent of sweat. But it all still seemed so implausible to him. And it was all so foolish for him to consider it. His partner had never so much as glanced at the others among the heavens.

But how could one collect such scents if it were not true?

"Perhaps, if you do not believe it, you should look upon your little 'children's' broken bodies once more," the other spirit spat, smiling widely as Yugi cast an uncertain glance at him again and then faced him. "Did you really come to believe that those tales of Atmeu and I were false? Were you ever so foolish to believe them? Of course he would deny such things in order to court you. But, as you are well aware, the _true_ moon belongs with the night sky. You have taken my place for long enough, have you not, little Yugi?"

He backed up a step. His eyes flickered to the dead bodies. They stunk furiously of Atemu as everything else in the garden did. His attention turned to the coyote again. The spirit was baring his teeth in amusement. Yugi stepped back once more.

"Your legs seemed shaky. I guess that is where he sunk his teeth into you, yes?" he continued, smiling wider. "He must have lured you into a deeper rest. As is the gift of the spirit of the night sky, wouldn't you agree, Yugi? Too bad that he did not think to finish his task. Then again, I suppose it might be better this way…"

The moon spirit waited until Akefia sprang. He lunged and landed on white paws. He sprang forward with speed like that of the wind. The coyote snarled behind him, stumbling and tripping when he maneuvered in a zigzag. So what Atemu had told him before was true. He had been told that, in a fight between the two of them, the wolf had torn the other canine's shoulder open. The wound had healed nicely but the bones he had crushed between his teeth had never grown well enough for him to run properly again.

Yugi sprinted through the trees as fast as his paws would carry him. Akefia stumbled behind him, several yards back and trying in vain to gain ground. The rabbit leaped over a small uprooted tree and crawled through a bramble thicket. The coyote snapped his teeth and hurried to the other end of the thorn barrier but Yugi had used this little place often. The hole at the roots of the tree beside him led to the realm beneath and though he always feared going back, he was not about to return to the heavens should he have the choice.

Akefia clawed furiously at the thorns. He let out a scream and whined pitifully. Yugi glanced back over his shoulder. The coyote had a slender paw but it was still too large. He would not dig him out. But if he braved it, he could definitely tear the thorns apart and attack that way. The small rabbit drew in a deep breath, lungs quaking. Then he sprang and fell into the hole beneath the roots. It was small in the entrance but opened as wide as the gaping jaws of death the further he fell. He felt the air lifting the fur on his cheeks and chest, his paws. The tumble beneath was endless, infinite sky and air, and then he felt his paws touch the ground again. It was dark and the sharp scent of wet earth met his nose in a rush. Small roots scratched his pelt as he pulled himself forward a few small steps.

The rabbit pressed his paws against the opening of the entrance, sinking his nails in as best he could, and then lifted himself out. Dirt clung to his fur and his back leg ached as he stumbled forward a step. The sunlight burst forth like prickles of warmth. His eyes ached with the furious beams. His fur glittered like fallen snow in the direct rays. As he sniffed the air, there was the harsh stench of dung and the more earthy tone of that of a red fox. Flowers let out a soft, alluring scent that was heavily overclouded by the other two tones.

The natural smells were nothing he was unused to even after all this time, but it made his heart hammer anyways. He had never truly ventured into the world again after being selected into the heavens—or at least not alone. Those few times he had, Atemu had accompanied him and Yugi had feasted well on clover while he kept watch. No predators were foolish enough to approach the spirit, even bears, as the very gleam of his eyes made them feel fear creep through their bellies. He had seen many of them take off when he so much as moved to get to his feet, his silence enough to unnerve them. And the one time he had come on his own, he had wandered only several steps, eating quickly whatever greens were around, and then fled back as he knew Atemu was looking for him.

He blinked a few times, sniffing intensely, and listened as hard as he was able. He supposed now that he had the great black wolf to thank for the new speeds he could travel with his paws. He thought he also owed him for the new means of evasion he had developed through their endless games. He knew he could comfortably name him the reason for his new technique of hiding in even the most open of spaces.

He brought his hind legs almost completely to his front, breathing in deeply as he scented the air once more. His eyes darted about as he crept forward as quietly as he could manage. He needed to find a place where he was certain Akefia would not come across him, as he was sure that the coyote would give chase of him eventually.

The rabbit shivered as he approached the fox dung, glancing around at his surroundings and then towards his pristine pelt. He had always prided himself in such a beautiful coat. It had gained the envy of many long before when he was still part of this realm. But that would have to change. There was no way he could pass up an opportunity to hide himself just for the narcissistic affection he felt for his own pelt. The acrid stench was the only possible source strong enough that he would be able to hide his own soft scent. Yugi leaped into it before he could rethink his course of action. He rolled in it, forgetting for a moment to breathe, and then sprang to his feet and leaped away as the sound of a twig snapping met his ears. He caught the falls of paws behind him, but as he sprinted they began to fade into nothing and so he circled back carefully to check.

Only when he did not see the other animal did it sink in.

He was completely alone in the world beneath the heavens again.

During the time in which Yugi spent making his way into the realm of reality and seeking shelter, Atemu worried himself to find him. The wolf had spent hours chasing the fox spirit Mai throughout a human village. She had woken him from his light slumber when she had grabbed Yugi by the back leg and attempted to drag him out of their den. And so she had woven her way in and out of the realms with magic that he could not truly fathom. She had led him along for so much time that she had rendered him exhausted. And then she had seemingly disappeared within the smoke of one of the human's fires as he struggled to give chase once more.

He returned panting and anxious, checking the den only to find that his partner was nowhere to be found. Nose to the ground, the black wolf caught his scent faintly among the harsher smells that clung to the air. He could smell his own blood and hints of another's, cold and familiar, which burned in his mind as he tilted his head to the side. Akefia's blood; he recognized it from their fight before, when he had split his skin to the bone and crushed his shoulder when he had first attempted to bed him against his wishes. He also knew the other two scents that burned the air like the smoke with which Mai had seemed to so effortlessly disappear within. Akefia had made his desire for him no secret while they were still forced to work together and Atemu had often caught the smell of his recent pleasures clinging to his fur like thorns. He knew the sweat and the essence, as they were always blended together, and the wolf hated the fact that they were burned so violently within his memory.

Disgust crossed his features but a new, terrible, _aching_ realization swept across him. That smell in the air, mingled with it, was that of him. The wolf turned his head, horrified, and smelled again as if it might change the results to something else completely. But no, as his fur lifted across his shoulders and his tail came up as a signal of pure aggression and hatred, he knew it was still his.

Akefia must have been playing a trick. He lowered his head, growling softly, but the bristle remained and he could not shake the hatred that made his blood hot like liquid sunlight within his veins. He could hear him, as he angled his ears, and the coyote was nearby, licking at wounds he wished he had inflicted on him. Angrily, raising his head high, the wolf took off in a trot, snarling as he charged the other canine.

The lightning spirit just barely ducked out of the way of his teeth, slithering like a silver-skinned snake in order to avoid him. Atemu spun on him, his lips drawn back to their fullest, eyes glinting like distant reddened glaciers.

"What did you do to Yugi?" he spat furiously, squaring every muscle in his body. He would kill him if he had harmed him. He would rip his throat out and leave his carcass for the rest of the spirits to pick off of. He would soak in his blood happily and use his coat to line the stone of his den.

"To Yugi?" Akefia snapped, giving him a wide-eyed and false innocent expression that made him snarl louder. His purple gaze blinked in surprise and his narrow jaw opened as if he were stunned to be placed under such an accusation. "What would I have done to Yugi?"

Atemu moved forward, pressing into what little space they held between them. His incisors glinted and Akefia whined at the sight of them, remembering all too well the power with which they had delivered his limp. "Answer me, Akefia," he snarled quietly, running his tongue over his nose as if he already tasted his blood and enjoyed it. The coyote lowered himself slightly towards the ground but held himself there, careful not to corner himself in such a submissive position. Atemu could and _would_ kill him if he got it into his head. "What have you done to Yugi? Where is he?"

"It is not my job to be the keeper of your mate," he snapped, bristling faintly and then whimpering and springing backwards when teeth chomped in his face. "Easy, Atemu! You don't want to cause unjust fights here—"

"Anything concerning your throat torn out is fair and just as far as everyone else is concerned." He paused, sure he heard something moving nearby, but when he flicked his ear to listen more closely, the sound ceased all existence. "Listen to me and hear me well, Akefia; should anything have happened to Yugi, I will kill you."

"Why don't you take it up with him then? _He_ is the one who fled to the human world because he could not stand to live a lie any longer," the lightning spirit spat furiously, snarling when the wolf pressed closer to him and seemed to loom over him angrily. His tail was still raised high over his head, and Akefia could see every bit of muscle in his narrow chest and powerful bones.

"What did you just say?"

"I said that he fled. He left the heavens. He abandoned them before he was forced to break your heart. He could not handle the stress of pretending any further," the smaller canine snapped, and his tail moved in a small wag as if he could not contain the exuberance brought by his own words. The spirit of the night sky stared at him for a moment, red eyes burning as he snarled softly in utter outrage. "He ran away because he doesn't love you anymore. And you finally left him alone for a moment."

When he moved to run his tongue over the wolf's cheek, Atemu twisted away. His teeth clamped into his cheek violently. Akefia screamed loudly, struggling to pull away. A toss of his head sent the smaller predator skidding across the ground. Immediately the coyote got to his feet again, bristling as his tail fell between his legs. His lips pulled back to show his teeth, his ears flattened against his skull, and he lowered his head towards the earth until his chin nearly touched the ground.

The wolf stared at him furiously, and a shiver spread through him, his rage unsuppressed and clearly on display. His muscles quivered, his pelt rolling atop them with the movement, and his lips pulled further back. The snarl built up into a roar of a noise and he sprang at him. Akefia jerked away, but realized belatedly that Atemu had not fully aimed for him. Rather he landed a small inch from where he had been formerly.

"He seized his opportunity and he _ran_ ," the coyote snarled, taunting him as they glared at one another and the wolf struggled to keep from tearing his throat out that very second. "You were stupid to ever suppose he loved you. He _used_ you, you stupid _pup_! Do you still not understand that the only one who _ever_ loved you was _me_?"

Atemu turned away, spinning violently and snarling furiously once more. He trotted forward, spun around to face him angrily, and then breathed out so roughly that his entire body quaked with the exhale. "Whatever you have done, Akefia, you had best hope that it can be repaired. I will have your _head_!" he spat, turning again and taking off in a brisk trot for one of the many entrances to the world below.

Akefia watched him go, a bitter fury making his lips curl back completely. Every fur along his back rose in a bristle and he growled softly as he breathed roughly outwards. Atemu was a fool. He was the most stubborn of fools, pathetic beyond sense. Watching him trot off to find that miserable moon spirit, the coyote felt blood drizzle down his cheek. He could already see the tuft of fur that had been ripped out by the other canine's teeth, though it was nothing more than a smear of silver in the corner of his eye.

He growled again, tossing his head upwards, and watched a large black shape ascend from the skies. The raven landed on a branch nearby, watching him with beady eyes that he wanted to squash between his teeth. He snarled, looking up at him fully, and then moved to take a seat.

"Well that could have gone much better," someone else greeted them, voice husky and full of amusement. Akefia listened to her soft steps with his ears flattened against his skull. He turned his head only enough to eye her as she came forward, purple gaze black with the rage that dilated his pupil. The red fox paid him no attention, circling around him once with her long, bushy tail in the air, the white tip dancing like a will-o-wisp before his eyes. Her slender black forelimbs were graceful as they carried her in a brief circle in front of him before she took a seat as well, facing him with narrow, gorgeous eyes the color of unearthly gems. Her black ears tipped towards him, her sleek muzzle pointed towards the ground only slightly, and her eyes burned into his. "He's pretty resilient."

"He thinks that useless rabbit is worth his time," the coyote spat, bristling furiously. "And yet, I, his equal, am worth nothing?"

The raven's feathers fluffed upwards as it craned its neck, facing him fully, its beak glittering. "His equal?" it mocked laughingly, spreading its wings for a moment before clicking its large bill. "Why do you even attempt to humor yourself with such notions, Akefia? Atemu is younger than you. He is also somehow _wiser_. And you had to enlist our help to even get this far beneath his flesh."

"Imori, I will do to you what Atemu threatened to do me," he snapped angrily. "I will tear your head from your neck and pop your skull within my jaws, you worthless bird. Had it not been for me, you would still be banished from the heavens, would you _not_? You are lucky none of them are the wiser for the magic it took to draw you back in here. And was it not _you_ who wanted revenge before me?"

"You both battle as if you have any right to the things you desire," the vixen laughed softly, her tail rising and falling in a twitch of pure amusement. She gave them both a wicked smile, showing off her glittering white teeth, and her paws were tickled with the length of her long tail. "Atemu wants nothing to do with you, Akefia. And you don't deserve your place among the heavens as it is, Imori. You lost that right when you tried to eat Yugi for breakfast the day he was brought here."

Both of the spirits swung their attention on her, ruffled by her nonchalance and the way she gazed at them with such strong laughter.

"And you are the one who wishes to return to the world beneath," Akefia sneered, leaning forward to bare his teeth in her face. She did not so much as blink and instead tilted her head to the side as her mouth pulled up wider, her beautiful ginger and white face more amused than ever. "And what for? To die when your immortality ceases to exist any longer? How pathetic of you, Mai."

"I fear nothing, unlike you, Akefia, who hides in the shadows and wishes for attention you are so unworthy of," she stated, flicking her tail again as she eyed him with a glint in her gaze that warned him to pull away immediately. "I want pups, with the same beautiful pelt as mine, and gorgeous eyes like summer winds. You would not understand such a thing, you mongrel, for you chase a spirit with love that will _never be yours_. And, as for you, Imori, remember your place, dear. I brought you here and I will cast you out again. Speak as if you are above me again, and you will find that your trees offer you no shelter and your wings will give you no freedom."

 **Thanks for stopping by and reading. I'll explain more about the story and the myths I read in the second part's author's note. Part II will be posted (hopefully) on or around the 26th.**

 **All reviews are appreciated, constructive or not.**


	2. Part II

**Okay, so I was going for a lighter, more fairytale-like story, but I also used the basis of Native American mythology for the spirits' symbolism.**

 **In mythology, the wolf was considered wise and a very successful hunter and fighter. Many stories featured them teaching hunters the best ways to catch their food as well as solve problems.**

 **The coyote was a trickster either greedy and ambitious with little to no boundaries or more righteous and set to help others. His stories varied and often portrayed him in entirely different lights.**

 **The rabbit was considered a very successful trickster who was faster and wiser than a lot of the other animals but also equated with fertility and alcohol and (I believe) infidelity. The rabbit was mostly featured in stories that involved mimicry, cunning, and helping people to solve problems.**

 **The raven and the fox were both tricksters and extremely cunning and were able to escape almost every consequence that would have come their way. The fox was considered to be the one to bring people fire in some cultures and was able to avoid any negative effects from his decisions. The raven was featured in stories that either praised him as a hero or used him as a representation of sin and negative emotions (gluttony, greed, impatience, etc.).**

 **Since these are the main five animals, I'm only listing them.**

 **Anyways, tell me how I did with the descriptions? I'm still working on finding my footing with the techniques. I have three (possibly four) multi-chapter stories that are going to require a better balance for me to write them without doing them extreme injustices.**

 **Warnings: Mentions of attempted non-con, slight blood, minor death, mentions of death**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Yugioh or sculpture "Question that Devours" in picture done by Beth Cavener.**

 **I ONLY JUST REALIZED, TOO, THAT I FORGOT TO THANK ECHO FOR THE PROOFREAD AND EDITS AND BETAING! JESUS! I'M A TERRIBLE PERSON! I'M SORRY! So, anyways, Echo definitely saved me again by being my first reader, giving me feedback, proofreading, and editing for me! So sorry I forgot to say thank you before. *covers face in shame***

Chasing the Moon

Part II

The wolf breathed in the soft, lingering scent of water and closed his eyes briefly. He was surprised that he had gotten to the cave without issue, as he had expected Akefia to follow him and harass him more than that mild spat he had wished to engage him in. He had thought he would have to focus harder to ignore his taunts, to get away unscathed from it all. One moment of doubt was always enough for the coyote to twist another's reality. And he had expected it to be harder to avoid slipping, as the creature sought so hard to get beneath his pelt. He still remembered working with the coyote, when he had been brought forth as one of the original spirits, the two of them placed together because of their familial ties. But the coyote had been all about show and humiliation, so eager to get beneath his skin and terribly desperate for something that Atemu had refused to offer him.

He shuddered at the very thought, glancing upon the walls for a single moment. His coat spread glittering stars across the sleek stone and the water splashing down before him made it all the more beautiful. Ribbons of color danced before his eyes, and the dull roar of the waterfall made them sound almost alive with shimmering finesse. A puddle met his paw as he stepped forward, dulling the gentle sound of his weight with a soft trickle that seemed amplified harshly within his ears. A small mist drifted from the cold air touching the stone, the constant pressure of the rushing water causing the vapor to cling to his fur. He felt heavier, almost to the point of weariness, and he closed his eyes for a brief moment. Passing into the realm below had always seemed like a burden rather than a choice, but now he supposed he had more reason than to squelch a ravenous ache in his hollow stomach. He had to bring Yugi back—or at least find out why he had left him like this. If Akefia was right—

He flinched and glanced over his shoulder for a moment. His pelt twitched and burned as if on fire beneath a blazing sun. He did not believe the coyote for a second, not after all the mental torment he had tried to inflict upon him when they had worked together. But he had to wonder, what it was that had made his mate run from him like this. And the coyote's voice echoed in his head, threading together the words that only _he_ could ever love him. The thought was sickening and he felt as if he might collapse to his belly in shame at the very idea, horrified and disgusted.

He had never gotten along with Akefia. The coyote had wanted to dominate him—physically and mentally—and he breathed poison in his ears like a cobra. He had followed him to his den more than once, trying to make himself at home there. Atemu had chased him off each time, disgusted and furious, and had moved himself away several times in pure panic at the very thought. He had been so much younger back then, so easily scared of even his own shadow or making a misstep in his attempt to keep the world beneath balanced.

Atemu had only been the size of a yearling, and though he had fought Akefia off several times, it had gotten tiresome. He had grown terrified on more than one occasion, knowing that the coyote was doing exactly as he had set out to do, humiliating him and getting beneath his skin with such intensity that he felt his mind might break. But he had also grown from it, and a bitterness had begun to form in his heart, to the point that it seemed to turn it black. By the time Akefia thought he might have broken his will, Atemu had found himself at the point of no return in his desire to make the other suffer the same fear and hatred he felt he was always swallowing.

The night Akefia had followed him back, planning to take him once and for all, claim him as something Atemu had no desire to be, the wolf had mutilated him. He had ripped his face open in jagged lines and clawed his belly until the skin had split. He'd cast his entrails across the floor of his den and tossed him across the cave angrily. He'd scarred his face for what had felt an eternity and when the other had managed to get up despite it all, he had broken his entire right shoulder.

He had felt as if an ice had taken residence inside him. He had been sure that his heart was too black to feel anything more than that solid chunk of cold hatred that seemed to rest there. He had never questioned it after that, furious with everything that had ever been offered him, and his run-ins with Akefia were always bloody. More than once he had tried to tear his throat out, blinded by rage that he had not been able to suppress, trembling with the force of it and only stopping himself when others got involved.

His fur bristled with fear at the memories, and he craned his neck back to run his tongue over his shoulder in an attempt to soothe some of the frayed tension that was growing beneath his skin. He had not thought of such things in so long, because his life had become focused so completely on Yugi that he had had no need. As long as the moon spirit had been by his side, he had been happy, and he'd felt safe. Meeting him at first, assuming his trickster nature to be similar to Akefia's, he had thought to hate him too. And he had—for all of five minutes until he found the other spirit was too terrified to remain within his presence as a rabbit instead of a human.

Atemu flattened his ears against his skull, drawing in a deep breath, and then hurried forward. The splash sent him somersaulting for a single second, the force nearly crushing him. The wind was knocked from his lungs but he landed on the other side of the water. His paws balanced precisely after years of practice, the narrow strip of stone before him. The mouth of the cavern stood mere inches from his nose, plummeting all fifty feet to the river beneath. He had no plans of dying beneath the crashing water. Instead the wolf shook himself out, testing his balance as he always did, and then picked his way carefully along some of the shallow stones that made up the ledge he had climbed in the spirit realm as well.

The entrances mirrored each other in every way except for the fact that the spirit realm had glowed with his passage and this place did not. Beneath his paws, the stars should have stretched and the ground should have become the glittering abyss of night. Now it was only wet and dull stone and the stars in his pelt that shone brightly. His magic strummed in his veins and left him eager to find the other spirit so that they could return.

He had never liked this world. Things beneath the heavens were just so different and dangerous and everything was darker than the spirit realm. He glanced upwards. He would still be able to influence the sky's changes from below the heavens but it would never last.

He shuddered at the thought of the other spirits chasing him down to return him. He refused to pass back through without the moon spirit at his side. He would sooner die than bear the pain of separation from him.

Yugi had noticed the change in the sky as time progressed into nighttime. The moon no longer hung there to cast light, nonexistent within the darkness. But small specks of color, blue and purple like the coming darkness, were spread in the depths of the blackness the night sky contained. The colors were splotchy and unusual, like blood splattered across the ground or shattered clouds torn to ribbons. But they still wove something beautiful and strange in the sky, brilliant in design despite their obvious displacement. He wondered somewhere in the back of his mind what exactly that tale might be but he had nothing to go by. The wolf obviously had not come to find him if the sky still retained its depths like this. Perhaps the splotches of color meant he was truly happy.

Yugi at least hoped he might be despite his own crestfallen weariness. The hours seemed so much harder to bear when the wolf was not there to keep him company. He missed him dreadfully, but he would not go back.

He and Akefia had most likely grown close again, because now there was nothing to stand between them and their love anymore.

The rabbit curled up tightly and stared at the water several feet beneath his ledge in the cliff face. It was a still pool, and his reflection was beautiful in the darkness, though he looked pitiful himself, mourning his loss. There was a bright curl of light in the form of a large circle that lingered behind his pelt like sunbeams and it almost hurt his eyes to look upon for more than a few seconds. He could not find a light source to cast such a glow when he looked for it, and he realized that it must have been his magic reflected there in the water.

He could not find the white rabbit's scent anywhere, despite the way he drew in the deepest of breaths and exhaled his hardest to make any hair fibers draw upwards with the smell he needed to track. The most he had gotten for his efforts were split paw pads, an angry rumble in his hollowed belly, and thorns caught in his nose when he had gotten too close to a thicket. He had been snarled at by a badger, swooped at by a cardinal, and run away from by a small raccoon. A weasel had dove into the water out of fear when he passed by, and a mother bear had growled a warning when he got too close to her cubs.

Atemu was hungry, tired, and growing more and more fearful as the seconds passed. If he could not find Yugi, then did that mean he was dead? Or was he just so sure of his decision to run that he did not care to let the wolf find him? Surely Yugi had not truly fallen out of love with him…

He whined under his breath, pacing forward, and then took off into a brisk trot again. Maybe if he could find some clover fields, he would discover Yugi as well. It was his favorite meal, after all, and whenever they had come about foraging, it was the first thing he always went for.

Yugi's belly was growling, struggling for his attention, but the white rabbit was reluctant to move from his perch. The grass atop his ledge was hardly anything he would want to eat, but it was the only thing within reach. When he took a mouthful, it felt as if he were choking on something disgusting and rancid. He thought of the fox dung again and risked a small glance at his pelt.

At least he had cleaned it when he had treaded the pool as a human in order to get to his little ledge. It was the only safe haven he had found so far, but it was hardly a home. He planned to leave it only when he was sure that no one was going to come searching for him, let alone find him and drag him back.

The third day seemed to stretch the longest as he panted tiredly and turned his nose towards the riverbank. There were many openings between the two worlds and none of them were similar when it came to access. Smaller animals had more luck finding them than larger, and Atemu had only come across the cave for himself but stuck his nose in about ten of the others so far.

Anxiously, he felt his fur bristle and shift as if his skin were rolling beneath it. He was exhausted and his mouth was growing dry as he panted. The sun weighted his pelt as if it were the heavy bark of a tree. He had not drunk water in so long that he felt he could not remember the taste of it. His stomach felt as if it were going to dissipate within him, and the thought of eating made him want to cry out in anguish just as the idea of Yugi having truly left him did.

Akefia had to be wrong. There was no chance that Yugi had left him like that. Why would he have? He had been so happy with him only two days before, while they were lying around in the garden and the fallen stars were playing around him happily. How had they gotten so terribly off track in such a short amount of time?

He didn't understand. And he didn't want to admit that the coyote might have been right. But why would Yugi suddenly forsake him like this? Why would he run away without telling him why or how he had upset him? Atemu whined loudly, heart feeling as if it might turn to fine dust like the sand beneath his paws, and then froze in place.

Either his heart hurt so much that he was mistaking a scent for Yugi's or…

He lowered his nose into the roots of the tree, drawing in a deep breath. He could smell the rabbit, a gentle and almost nonexistent scent that was quickly fading. He could also catch the arid tone of magic that announced yet another entrance for a prey animal. He was not mistaken then, Yugi was truly here…

He took off running, sure of himself and where the other might have gone. He recognized this place, something that had slipped from his mind long ago. The heartache was nothing he could outrun, but it seemed to alleviate as he continued moving. Yugi had to be close by, waiting for him or trying to hide away from others so that he could learn to become a mindless piece of prey once more on his own.

He was panting and the sun was setting as he looked up, a hollow dread seeping into his bones once more.

The circle of light around him had grown impossibly strained as he looked at his reflection once more. He was unsure of whether it was his second form that made him this way or if it was Akefia resuming his role as the moon in the heavens. He could not find the white sphere in the sky, however, no matter how hard he looked. There were no clouds to cast over it, and its absence seemed eerie and horrifying as he continued to search for it. It was made even more startling by the lack of blackness to make up the sky. The night had become a strange, terrible green-gray shade that bordered on the edges of something sick and unearthly. The stars were broken and fractured, crushed and nonexistent in several places. He could not find a single constellation, as if they had all slipped from existence with his absence.

He remained watching the sky, frowning in puzzlement, and tilted his head as he stared up at it. A movement caught his attention but if it was a natural born animal it would not come any closer. They seemed to fear the pool of water now that he resided there, most likely due to the magic that they did not understand.

"You have fallen out of the sky, my heart," a voice growled softly behind him.

The baritone pitch sent his heart hammering in his chest. "Atemu," the boy whispered, spinning around with wide eyes.

The wolf raised its head and its red eyes flashed towards the water. For a moment it hesitated and then it sprang forward as if it were a newborn deer. The splash was enough to soak it head to tail, but its paws touched the bottom with such resounding balance that it looked startled by the fact. Yugi was amused by his idea that it would be too deep for him to wade, and watched as he began to trot swiftly towards him. The canine cast a shadow dark enough that the stars in his fur beneath the liquid were very near invisible. "Tell me what has made you leave me like this," he demanded coldly, expression furious for only a moment. A tired relief spread through his dulling crimson eyes a moment later, however, and the smaller boy smiled softly without realizing. "So much time I have spent searching for you."

"You shouldn't have come here—"

"But where else should I go?" the wolf asked softly, the stars shining in its beautiful black pelt, shimmering among the thick hairs. Deep shades of royal blue and red-violet littered his pelt in patches and it was clear that it was not by choice. The discoloration looked both beautiful and hideous all at once, lifeless and strained as the sky above their heads yet somehow vibrant and pulsating. Yugi feared that had the wolf not been so determined to find him that the very depth of them would have dissipated completely and he would have lay somewhere to rest and never wake again. "Where else would I go but to chase the moon, Yugi?"

"The others will be angry with you…"

"Let them be," he snorted dismissively, wading closer and pausing beside the ring of light his pale skin gave off. The water rippled softly beneath them as the wolf lifted his head and looked at the stars that glimmered in the off-gray, almost green sky. They glittered weakly but held just enough strength to be noticeable against the color of a coming storm. "I care not."

Yugi stayed quiet for a moment and then ducked his head, reaching his fingers out for the water. It was cold now that the other spirit had joined him. But he welcomed the chill as he always had, warmed by the red-eyed spirit's presence beside him. "You know you can never go back if you remain for too long…"

"Then so be it. If you will not come back with me, then I care not for my duties," Atemu stated softly, stretching his muzzle out to press his nose into the skin of his hip. He looked exhausted and wearier than he had ever witnessed him, and his nose was so cold that for a moment he almost flinched. "They will find another to replace me. We are and always _have_ been expendable."

"You are being foolish, Atemu. Go back."

"You may not wish to return and I shall not leave without you."

"Why does it matter so much to you?"

"Because we are inseparable, you and I," he murmured gently, a small smile crossing his lips and pulling them back to show his teeth in an uneven curve. His cheeks bunched up on both sides and his tongue looked bright even with the lack of light to see it with. The former spirit raised a brow, taking in the way that the black lips stretched so fully into a grin akin those of his more human-bound cousins. "I will not return without you."

The canine lifted his head towards the heavens again. The hideous color of it was growing darker, as if shadows were passing through it in splotches, and the stars were dying as if they had never before existed. His fur bristled then fell, a brief tremble racking his pelt. His time was running out, yet, should Yugi choose it, he would never harbor the desire to go back. "I believe that the spirit realm can hold itself in one piece without me to influence it. There is always Seth to keep the peace in my absence," he stated, head turning and eyes growing warm as they regarded the other. "I do not doubt he can do just as well as I ever could."

Yugi ignored the small twist in his gut which screamed at him to tell Atemu to turn back. A small trickle of discomfort trailed down his spine as he remembered his own selfishness. "But you surely could never be happy here, in this place," he murmured gently, frowning as the wolf tilted his head in puzzlement at the statement. He looked so innocent as to remind Yugi of their former children and of puppies who gazed upon their mothers as if they were the center of their universe. "The few times you came here, you have hated it, Atemu. You have said many times that you would never wish to be here for longer than absolutely necessary—"

"I raced through my time here in order to return to your side as quickly as I might find myself able. I have taken this form of flesh and blood simply so that I might see you again. I have spent three whole days searching for you without rest. Do you doubt that I could not find some solace in simply having you beside me?" he asked softly, stepping closer and entering the small ring of light he emitted. "If you must spend your existence in this realm, then so shall I."

"You still have time—"

"Until that halo of light around you wanes, you have time as well," Atemu growled, bristling as he perked his ears and raised his head. The fur shuddered along his body again and his lips curled faintly in displeasure. "Do you wish to return or remain here? I do not know what Akefia told you to doubt me so, but surely you know that I need nothing more than you by my side. Choose where you should wish to go and I will follow."

"I can't let you do this."

"You're right. You cannot, because you have no control over me, little moon. I am not yours to control. But you may dictate this one thing. Where will we be? In the realm of the spirits or reality?"

"…You shouldn't do this."

"Do not tell me what I should and should not do. Shall we rest here or remain? We only have minutes to decide. The stars are too weak from my descent. And there is no moon to light the darkness…" He shook his head slowly and pressed his forehead against his hip, leaning into the soft flesh. "I would be lost without you. All the stars in the sky could not light the path I wish to travel. I will always travel the path of the moon."

" _Atemu_ …"

"Whatever Akefia has spoken to you was a lie. I would never betray you." He pulled back to look at him again, taking in the wide blue-violet eyes, the shade of sapphire and dusk. His tail flickered under the water, wagging, and the gentle sway of the pool made Yugi blink as he stared at him. "No matter your choice, I will always follow. I chase the moon, not the sun. Don't forsake me, little moon."

"Oh, dear Atemu, you know I could never forsake you…"

"Then choose. Choose as I have chosen you," Atemu pleaded, staring into his eyes and flattening his ears against his skull. The star in the center of his forehead shone brightly but the intermingled paths of blue and galaxies unnamed formerly painted white had lost a touch of their gleam. His fur looked ragged, his smooth cheeks unruly and the bases of his ears in clear disarray. "Tell me, little rabbit. Tell me where we shall stay."

Yugi tipped his head up to take in the discolored heavens and finally the black wolf before him again. The spirit looked up at him with pupils centered with bright white and stars in his pelt, with red eyes so fathomlessly deep and vivid with affection that it made his heart hammer in his chest. He still watched him with such warmth that it could have melted snow in the midst of winter, telling him without words the many things that he needed to hear. The spirit in front of him had never done anything to hurt him and the truth was more painful than the lies he had been fed.

"I'm so sorry for doubting you, Atemu…"

He shook his head firmly. "Apologize later, my dear heart. I want to have my answer before the sun and this realm awaken," he stated gently.

"It's too late to go back," the boy whispered, shaking his head and casting a distressed glance at his shadow in the water. Atemu looked down at the rabbit silhouette which drifted atop the rippling water in the center of the small ring of white the smaller spirit spread over the pool. The off-white silver-gray shadow was stretched in a running motion trapped in place and the sight was nearly enough to make him wag his tail again, thinking of their games together formerly. "I can't return there."

"Until the light of the stars is shed from my fur and the water before you turns dark, we may go back. But remember that the moment you choose, there is no changing our minds."

Our _minds,_ Yugi thought with a small smile. The former moon spirit bit his lip, staring at the canine and feeling his heart skip and dance in his chest. Atemu glanced between him and the sky for a moment, looking exhausted but happy. He lowered his eyes back to the other spirit and wagged his tail once softly in a slow movement. The water rippled gently and he opened his jaws slightly to show the very edges of his bottom incisors in a soft smile.

"I missed you," he mumbled instead, swallowing hard as he looked him over. "And I know that you would be happier up in the spirit realm—"

"Disregard what would make _me_ happy," he argued, flattening his ears against his skull and growling softly. The star on his forehead blinked weakly, showing a pitiful power that made his heart wrench for a moment. "I want you happy, not me. I will be happy as long as you are. Now choose. I can feel Anzu and Kris approaching my domain. Their magic is going to mix with mine in only minutes…"

"I…I want to go back. I miss the heavens—I just…I don't know if I…I don't think I'm strong enough to go back, Atemu," he muttered, gesturing towards the thin ring of light he emitted. "I think it's too late—"

"Then I shall give you my strength," the wolf stated simply, wagging his tail again as his jaws opened wider. He looked elated now, as if he had feared for a moment that their argument might last longer or he might simply push him away. "I will give you the strength to return but only if you really wish to go back, little moon."

"I do, I…" Yugi nodded slightly and glanced up at the terrible color of gray which bordered so disgustingly towards green, where the stars were nothing but white specks and possessed no more luster than sand at sunset. "I miss it so much. I…I've been there for hundreds of years and I scarcely know how to exist down here again."

"We would figure it out," Atemu assured him, gazing up at him with those same warm eyes he had always possessed. "If it is your desire, then that will be what we do. But make sure you know which world you want to dwell in."

Yugi spent a moment looking between him, the heavens, and the water. The rabbit stretched out in the image of a sprint at his feet looked almost as if it were quivering. "Atemu, what about Akefia?"

"Do not fear Akefia, little moon," Atemu growled softly, searching his face. "If it is your wish to return, I will make him pay and I assure you he will never disturb us again."

Yugi's eyes stretched wide, horrified as he whispered, "You…plan to kill him?"

"No," the wolf stated, shaking his head in a simple jerk of his muzzle. "But banishment from the heavens would be just the same, am I correct? He will die of the humiliation to follow such a decision."

The smaller spirit shook his had but reached his hand out to touch the star in the center of the wolf's broad forehead. It throbbed against his fingers, emitting weak magic and open pain, and when he pulled his hand away, it shone a harsh red as if it were oozing blood. Yugi cringed at the idea of inflicting such mindless pain, but it was impossible to change it and he just hoped that his partner truly knew how to forgive. He was not oblivious to the star-speckled canine's ability to hold and nurture vicious grudges. It was actually a joke amongst some of the other older spirits that when he had been brought to the heavens his fur was white but his heart had darkened his pelt. Yugi had never witnessed his rage before save for his brief interactions with Akefia. The two of them had torn each other open more than once upon crossing paths. He supposed now he truly understood the reason.

"Can you carry me?" he requested quietly, frowning and tilting his head as he nibbled his bottom lip.

"Not in that form," the wolf growled, flattening his ears again and giving him a distressed look. "But if you might change into your true form, I may carry you then."

Yugi frowned slightly and swallowed hard. "I don't think I can, Atemu," he admitted miserably, staring at his confused and stricken expression. "I'm too tired. And I…I cannot swim."

"I would never allow you to drown." The wolf turned his eyes on the water for a moment where they glowed with each ripple that distorted them. He seemed almost as if he might dip his muzzle into the water for a brief moment before he swung his attention back to him. "Trust me, little moon. I will get us back to the heavens if you will only change for me now."

He hesitated for a moment but something in the back of his mind was already falling. It was effortless, as easy as breathing, and his body seemed to grow small, exhaustion tugging at his senses immediately. The moon spirit hit the water with a splash and a high-pitched scream of horror burst from his throat. The terror swamped his senses and he attempted to paddle his legs. And then he felt them. His partner's jaws wrapped around his midsection firmly but softly, gripping him so familiarly that Yugi felt safe again despite his skin still touching the water. The canine's long tongue ran over his stomach and side, comforting but strained as he tried to grip him a bit more firmly. The rabbit waited until he was completely situated, allowing his partner several times to shift his grip without dropping him. Then he flicked his tail and ears to shed some of the water on his pelt.

When Atemu tipped his head towards the sky momentarily, Yugi felt compelled to glance up as well. And then, swiftly, the large wolf spun and turned towards the bank of the shallow pool. He could feel small splashes of water hitting his white paws but kept himself from twitching as the canine stepped out of the pool and started running. The rabbit tried not to focus on the touch of his immense teeth where they seemed to scrape against the tender flesh of his tummy, far too noticeable but far from unbearable. Yugi kept himself relaxed and lightly wiggled his ears to tickle his partner's mouth, the whiskers twitching in response to his light touch.

The wolf gave him an amused growl that made him kick his legs with the gentle touch of his tongue shifting beneath his fur. Then he held completely still for him, fighting back a squeal at the sensation of their movements. His paws hitting the ground were swift and harsh, almost thudding with the force that he placed them. He thought it was more his tiredness than anything else, as he could not ever remember his movements so heavy, but did not question it. Regardless, he had to admire the speed with which Atemu moved with, appearing to race as if his paws were not even touching the ground.

If not for the heaviness with each step, he would have thought they were riding the wind instead. The trees rushed past them in blurs of vibrant green and brown at speeds that made him feel somewhat dizzy. His head was spinning with soft trickles of color and light that made him want to bury his face in his chest or Atemu's dark fur.

The sky was reaching a disgusting, solid brown color now as the wolf moved from a trot to a full, relentless sprint. The new pace made Yugi cringe violently with each step, twitching in pain with the harsher force of the canine's fierce movements, but his partner refused to release him. He glanced upwards, finding the sky taking on a soft, lighter hue at the very edges; Kris and Anzu would be here in only moments.

He felt, for a brief, horrible moment, that they would not make it, and then he noticed the sudden change in terrain. Atemu was using what little bit of magic he still possessed to speed up their travel but where he would have been able to leap through the waterfall from where they stood on the outskirts, now he was forced to scale the ledges.

The rocks were hard and his nails made harsh clicking noises. Yugi cringed with each step, flattening his ears against his head. He wanted to thump his back legs as instinct dictated, fearful and unsure of himself or even Atemu, and his heart hammered pathetically within his chest. He wanted to burrow into the wolf's side and ignore everything around him as he would have were they about to rest within their den. But, rather, he was forced to endure the clicking and the sound of the sand shifting beneath the wolf's paws.

When he lowered his head, it looked as if the earth had become pale and the color washed away. The stone was a pale yellow and orange, with small patches of green that barely seemed worth consideration. Small pebbles lined the paths, and the ledges looked sharp and unforgiving. A tumble would have sent him falling face first and straight into a set of jagged rocks beneath. And he was sure his body would have broken upon the surface like a rabbit caught within a human's snare.

He squirmed and then screamed in pain. The wolf tripped violently with his movement. They both tumbled and hit the ground hard enough to make his vision burst behind his eyes. Yugi gasped and breathed in hard, staring at what seemed like endless green from the trees below them. Atemu was struggling to pull himself up again, growling softly against his white pelt. When he turned his head, the wolf had his eyes screwed shut, his shoulders pulled tightly beneath his skin. His tail was quivering and his pelt seemed to twitch and ripple with pain. His legs were shaky for only a moment, and then he pushed himself completely to his paws. They shook beneath him, limbs abruptly weak and small beneath him as they struggled to support his weight. He panted, huffing with open exhaustion, and Yugi wished he had strength to offer him, for now he was aware of just how raggedly sharp and frail his bones appeared beneath his thick pelt.

"Oh, Atemu, I'm so sorry," he whispered weakly, and he turned his head just enough to press his small nose into his muzzle. "Are you okay?"

"I am," he murmured against his fur, his breath making Yugi's skin tingle with warmth and a small bit of pleasure. The teeth around him held a little too tightly as he started to brace himself. Yugi heard his thick nails scraping against the dirt harshly, as if sinking into the earth as a cat's would. He shivered slightly, struggling to contain it, and squeezed his eyes shut. The wolves from this realm had blunter nails from traveling so far and often, but Atemu had always been in the heavens and his nails were sharp and thick and strong like his teeth.

Yugi shivered slightly. Was he already starting to grow more like the mortal prey animals resting in the forests and lands around them? He hated the thought but he did have reason to worry such a thing.

Atemu struggled to fully move forward. He softened his grip slightly on his middle. He started forward again. The lunar spirit twitched slightly against his tongue as the wolf navigated his way along the thinner ledges with careful precision. His movements were slower, sloppier, and his limbs were weak and shaky as he continued to move.

Maybe Yugi should have tried to convince him to go on his own, that he would join him later. The thought, knowing that it was likely impossible in the first place, made his heart hurt. He would not have been able to convince him in the first place but if he had somehow managed it regardless, Yugi knew he would not have been strong enough to do that. It was probable he wouldn't have made it even as far as the base of the waterfall. He was growing more and more tired as time passed, but the position in Atemu's mouth scared him more than his exhaustion could ever match.

They passed under the water and Yugi let out a screech. Atemu faltered, stumbling violently. His nails ground and scraped against the water-slicked stones behind the water. Foam splashed outwards and pounded against the wolf's back. His back legs dug into the earth beneath them. He panted, nearly dropping the rabbit, and swallowed harsh whimpers at the sensation. The water continued to bore down on him, beating against his hindquarters, and the wolf shivered once. He grasped at the stones with his nails. And then he jerked himself violently forward. It was as if he had sprung from a smaller ledge, throwing himself.

Yugi hit the ground hard. He squeaked in pain. Atemu panted and growled against his pelt. His nose twitched, working to scent the air. Then he drew his paws beneath him weakly, movements pathetic and shaky. Yugi's legs felt like windswept leaves when the wolf sloppily pulled himself up to his full height again.

He limped forward, and the movement jostled them both. He nearly fell sideways, almost careening into the wall, but found himself at the last second. His nose began working again, a furious task as he checked for danger. Yugi watched him for a moment and then sniffed as well, trying his hardest to draw in every bit of aroma the air had to offer. But Atemu's nose was far superior to his and he could smell nothing but the damp stone and rushing water behind them. He smelled his partner's soaked pelt, an aroma he was so used to that he nearly sank into the sensation without hesitation. But something had obviously upset the wolf and now his stomach twisted and burned as he blinked in the cave and looked towards him.

"Atemu…"

The canine ignored him, instead trotting forward in uneven tosses of his limbs, stumbling and limping horrifically as they passed through the back of the cave. Yugi could immediately feel a small pulse of energy blooming and swelling upwards, brushing first against his paws and then his belly. It pushed at his fur and then into his skin, making his body tingle, and he closed his eyes as the liquid honey of the magic began to bring life to his exhausted form. But it was not enough to get rid of the sting where he knew the other had punctured his skin in his attempt to keep him from falling. And it did nothing to heal the limping wolf who stumbled so violently he nearly dropped him. They had barely passed through the stone entrance when he finally ceased to hold him any longer, nearly collapsing beside him in a heap.

The lunar spirit spun around immediately to check on him, his name on the tip of his tongue. But his partner was shuddering so pathetically, his head lowered and his jaws agape as he gulped in air, that he fell silent in horror. Oh gods, he had caused this…

Abruptly Atemu was on his feet again, the fur along his spine rising and his eyes flickering back and forth rapidly. He was still panting but the immense gulps were shortened to harsh breaths and then deep and sharp inhales that said he was scenting the air. Immediately he moved to take the place between him and whatever unseen threat was lurking about them, ears flicking every direction and his body shuddering as he continued to take in jerky breaths.

Yugi sniffed the air again, struggling to catch what his mate did, and then it finally came to him. The wolf did not smell anything. He was working on his most primal instinct now, the one that made him stand completely over him and lower his head as his tail rose and a low, long guttural snarl left his chest. Yugi could hear his nose working harder now, trying his hardest to catch a scent, and he pictured his ears flicking every direction as he tried to pinpoint something— _anything_.

"Atemu…"

" _Hush_ ," he snapped fiercely, moving a paw to nudge his side in apology before looking around rapidly as his snarl grew angrier. Yugi settled back on his haunches, looking about them as well, but he could not detect a single thing, and so he lowered himself back to his four paws and faced forward. He realized only belatedly that whatever it was that formed such a barrier before them was meant to keep them in place until Kris and Anzu's magic began to overlap with theirs. If that were to happen, they would both be in trouble. And with the discovery of their long absences, some of the other spirits in the council would banish them on account of their apparent negligence.

His stomach twisted.

"Akefia," he muttered under his breath.

Atemu nudged him again, silently saying he already knew that, but Yugi had a sudden feeling there was more to it than just the coyote at work here. The black wolf was sniffing rapidly once more when he suddenly snatched him from behind. The lunar spirit sputtered, his skull dangling from the other's immense jaws as they began to race forward again. His grip was unnecessarily tight, though he knew the other was too fearful to notice, and he squeezed his eyes shut to fight away the tremors that threatened to overtake his small form. The canine continued forward at a rapid pace despite his limp, which was swiftly righting itself with the magic that was beginning to flood his limbs again. But then he froze abruptly and the rabbit hit the ground with a yelp of pain.

"So you _brought him back_ ," the coyote spat, coming from the side and making them both stiffen in place. They had both been facing the wrong way, the wolf realized in shock. The thought made his stomach twist painfully as his heart began to hammer in his chest. Beneath him he could hear Yugi shifting to take cover beneath his belly, watching him, no doubt, with a horrified expression. His heart was a rapid tempo in his ears, like crackles of thunder booming repeatedly after each other, the edges blurring together and making his head pound. The sound did not stop him from wondering, terrified, who else it might be helping him. He was not that powerful, even as a trickster, and there had to be another force to help him with such a task. "How _cute_. But you still won't make it before dawn comes. Kris and Anzu are only a few minutes away."

"Move out of my way, Akefia," he spat, holding his tail straighter and curling his lips all the way back to show off each of his teeth. Each large, sharp tooth glistened where his saliva foamed as he snarled angrily, unable to stop himself. His ears pricked forward and his muzzle wrinkled further in ferocity, his eyes glowing and scrunching in the corners. He chomped his teeth angrily, the air rattling with the force of it. His shoulders rose beneath his pelt again, each hair becoming a jagged spike of jet black. "I will not hesitate to rip you to pieces."

Yugi shivered and instinctively flattened himself against the ground. If Atemu was kept busy with Akefia, what was the rest of the plan? What did he have in store for him? He had come knowing that this would be the sight to greet him; that they would be together once more. There was not a chance in either world that he had failed to plan something for him as well. He knew there were others around, awaiting their leader's signal, and he could almost hear their hearts beating in his ears, two faint little thumps which made him flinch with the way they danced within his thoughts.

"Give me the moon brat," the coyote snorted, wagging his tail and flattening his ears. He pulled his lips back into a wide grin of jagged teeth as he peered under Atemu's legs at the small prey animal. His lips pulled back into a wide smirk of gleaming white teeth and Yugi stared at him as he sank his own nails into the earth and bunched his muscles. "That's all it takes."

"All that it takes is my teeth in your throat," the wolf snarled angrily, bristling further. Yugi was startled when his back paw moved to nudge him, a gentle touch that made his eyes widen drastically in shock. He wanted him to run. The rabbit trembled at the very idea, unsure of whether he could actually do such a thing. He felt almost frozen in place; a part of him determined not to act so cowardly and try to help his mate, while the other trembled with a pure panic. Even if he might run, there was no certainty that he would perhaps be able to get away. He was still so tired.

"He is not going to be able to run for it," Akefia laughed haughtily, wagging his tail rapidly in pure sadistic amusement. His attention shot back to the wolf and he straightened to stand at his full height, smiling at him with that disgusting sneer across his face. The larger canine bristled further and his lips pulled back further until his eyes were mere specks of red with the force of it, the snarl building in his chest until he was vibrating with it. "He is too weak. You both are. Do you _really_ think you can fight me and win?"

"I _will_ win should you force me to fight with you." He pressed his paw into his haunches gently, nails sifting through his snowy pelt just enough to make him flatten himself further. He was sure Atemu could feel his tremors and the idea made him feel smaller and weaker, remembering momentarily when he had first met the wolf. How small and pitiful he had felt back then, too weak to fend for himself but for his second form. He had pressed himself against the ground until he felt he would melt into it, and then fled the moment the wolf had gotten within several meters of him. He had embarrassed himself more than once with his paralyzing fear and even caused many other spirits to laugh at him. Now, he wished he could disappear into the earth just as he had that very first moment in the heavens. "Back off, Akefia. Accept your defeat with some form of honor and leave it _be_."

"You are too weak to fight me in the first place, dear little Atemu."

"You overestimate yourself."

"If you will not hand him over by your own will, then I suppose it is by force of my hand that I shall take him _from_ you." He sounded faintly frustrated, but mostly amused, and his tail wagged as he moved a step before pacing back and forth before him. His legs were long, emphasizing his leaner build and unusually large and firmer build. He stood at almost the same height as Atemu, though with a smaller body and thinner bones, his limbs almost like long twigs.

As he moved in front of him, the wolf felt his stomach sink but his voice came out sharp and scornful as he responded with a harsh, "Will it be you? Or shall you have Mai or Imori do it for you?"

The second canine waited only a moment. His eyes flashed and then he shot forward. Atemu snarled loudly. Yugi braced himself, tired and sore, to flee. The two of them collided over his head. Atemu reared up on his hind legs. His nails scraped against the ground loudly. His teeth drove into Akefia's face. Yugi forced himself to remain frozen in place for a moment. He waited, narrowing his eyes and pressing his paws firmly into the earth. And then, as he had suspected, the coyote managed to push him. Atemu snarled and his weight shifted above him. He wavered, legs nearly buckling.

The white rabbit shot across the small bits of grass. He zigzagged as Mai burst out of the cover of some longer blades of yellow-red stalks. The she-fox clamped her teeth shut on air. Yugi ignored the warning that she had only missed him by a brief hair length.

Atemu and Akefia snarled loudly. Their voices blended and burned in his ears. His heart pounded. With the way their cries claimed his thoughts, Mai's threat seemed so small that there was a moment that he almost turned around to face the source of his fears. He could already imagine their teeth tearing through clumps of fur, blood flying and jaws ripping through flesh.

Atemu may have had the advantage of size and weight, but Akefia had aggression built from years of his desire to claim the wolf as his own. That aggression would help him more than the other two spirits. And Atemu's weakened stature would not do him well, only causing him to lag horribly. If he himself was so tired, then Atemu had to be so much worse with the long treks and his obvious lack of eating or even drinking water to replenish his strength during his search for him. His self-neglect could easily be the end of him.

He shot forward again. He weaved around a clump of grass. The blades seemed disturbingly long in his eyes. He narrowly escaped the vixen once more. She landed behind him hard on her dark legs. Yugi danced away from her. Blood pounded in his ears. He listened for her around it. She slammed into the earth again a mere hair away once more.

Imori shot at him. Yugi braced himself even as he sprang. The raven crashed into his side. His claws slashed through his fur but he could not grasp him. His skin stung beneath his coat but it was not open. Mai crashed towards him and he twisted. He spun around and bolted for her legs as she landed. The vixen snarled low in her throat. She pressed lower to the ground. A vicious yip left her mouth. His ears seemed to vibrate for a split second.

He flattened himself, waiting. He thanked every bit of nature that he had played this game so often with Atemu. The fact that they had done so frequently was really the sole reason he did not panic and bolt again. Imori was nothing more than a source of loud screeches and mounting irritation, an intimidation tactic that he did not care for.

Yugi sank his nails into the earth. He pressed his belly against the dirt. He breathed in deeply, muscles pulled taut. He rolled his shoulders under his pelt, preparing himself. The heavenly air surrounding him was soothing his exhaustion. It gave him a gentle but firm strength, pushing away the ache beneath his fur.

Perhaps if he and Atemu could stall long enough, they might be able to make it out of there without too much of a struggle.

Or maybe he should go for help.

Kris and Anzu would be there soon enough, after all…

A scream of pain ripped through the air. Mai burst into laughter above him. Her body twisted and Yugi mimicked immediately. His eyes widened drastically as they fell upon the sight the vixen seemed to enjoy so much. Atemu was seething, forced firmly into the earth. His back legs were pressed hard against Akefia's stomach. His front legs were strained, shaking, where they were pushed against his chest. He was snarling, enraged, but could not dislodge him. Akefia's teeth had found purchase in his cheek beneath his eye, nearly tearing it from its socket.

He kicked harder. He strained his trembling limbs further. He panted. He twisted his neck. He screamed again. He did not have the strength to push him away. Yugi trembled miserably from his hiding spot.

A small twist of his body, accompanied by a scream, made him flinch. A patch of bright white and dark red made his head spin. Atemu's shoulder was split to the bone. Clumps of dirt hung to his fur, matted by blood. The night spirit was gaining strength but he was losing it far faster. The wound would not heal. The rabbit shook harder. Atemu was struggling too hard. He was too tired and scared. He wouldn't be able to heal…

"What was that about winning, Atemu?" Mai barked. Her tail waved briefly in the air, a tip of white like flame in the darkness. Imori let out a loud caw of laughter. The black wolf snarled loudly in response. His eyes flashed. He attempted to turn his head. And then he screamed again. He thrashed, spitting and foaming in distress. His lips were bright white, his tongue pale. He struggled faintly and then stilled, breathing roughly. Yugi watched him, still pressed against the ground. He could not understand whether to run for help or try to help.

Atemu scraped at his stomach again. A patch of fur shredded and drifted lazily through the air. Akefia laughed against his skin. He tossed his head, throwing the wolf. He screamed, whimpering a second later. His breath ghosted over his eye. He struggled again, kicking harder.

Damn Akefia. Damn him for all of this.

The wolf was frozen but for his weak kicking and helpless panting for breath. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Yugi would be killed because of him. Akefia would tear his head from his body. Atemu nearly cried in distress at the very idea. He was failing him…

A thought came to his mind. Perhaps if he gave Akefia what he had so desperately craved for so long, he might let Yugi go. If he let Yugi go, then he could suffer through whatever it was he had planned for him. He could…

The coyote screamed suddenly. His body jerked and went through a spasm. Atemu's eyes snapped open. Teeth tugged along his skin. The other canine snarled and cried out again. His trembling movement, a harsh toss of his head, sent Atemu reeling. His head felt heavy and light all at once. His eyes burned and ached. His body nearly pulled straight forward. Teeth released his face abruptly. He fell back and his sides burned. His shoulder bled and stained the ground. His heart hammered. He panted, licking his lips. A drop of foam fell from his cheek and he struggled to see straight.

Mai and Imori let out a simultaneous cry of shock. The coyote was twisting and spinning. He tossed himself into the air. He ran in a circle. He spun and snarled. He reared up and then tossed his head. He leaped and bared his teeth. He chomped his jaws. He raised a paw and tried to claw at it.

Atemu sprang to his feet, realization sinking in. He lunged forward, snarling. Akefia froze, startled, and then spat furiously in response. His fur rose in a furious bristle. They both looked at each other. For a moment, Atemu was frozen, and then he growled louder. A small fear gripped him briefly but he was relieved all the same.

Yugi had his teeth clamped tightly. The coyote's throat was bleeding. His movements had caused the wound to further open. Atemu recognized the baldness as his own work. He had attempted to grip him there and Akefia had pulled away like water, leaving only his thick fur. He swung and tossed his head again but Yugi held. He clawed but missed, eyes on the wolf the whole time.

The movement shook the small white rabbit like leaves in the wind but still the lunar spirit held tight. Atemu blinked slowly, watching with shock. His mind struggled to process it. Yugi had never been violent, not ever. But he recognized his meaning behind the action. He had seen him suffering and had come to stop it.

Mai sprang forward and he spun on her. His teeth chomped in the air. His eyes blazed wildly. The vixen immediately sprang backwards as a cat would. Her gaze grew wide, horrified. She blinked and then backed up again. Imori cawed and circled. When he dove, Atemu slammed into the fox's side. And then he sprang for the raven. The bird, headed straight for Yugi's tiny frame, screeched just as his jaws clamped around his wing and crushed the bone.

Yugi recognized his partner's weight as he moved about. The other two were screaming now. But he wished for a moment that he had no such sense. It was hard for him to keep his grip with Akefia's violent tosses. His teeth were not made for such a brutal purpose. The blunt but sharp incisors he had clamped within the canine's flesh were slipping, feeling weak and pathetic. He did not possess those terrible teeth that Atemu or Jonouchi or Anzu did, predatory and so fierce that they could snap bones like twigs.

The coyote snarled and threw himself into a roll. Yugi hit the ground, gasping. His paws kicked and flailed at his skin. He struggled for breath. Akefia was on his feet again immediately. His teeth glittered, bloodied, and he spun on him. The rabbit rolled onto his feet again. He drew in deep breaths, watching him closely. The two of them stared and then a paw slashed out at him. He sprang back, watching him. He lunged forward, jaws open wide. Yugi waited, tense and ready, and then scrambled. He dodged to the side, threw himself onto his flank, and skid. Akefia's jaws slammed shut. The noise sounded like rocks falling.

Yugi ignored it, spun around again. The coyote went to face him again. The rabbit shot forward. He hid himself beneath his belly. His body was tensed and ready again. He waited. Akefia sprang and spun around to face him. Yugi followed him as faithfully as he had Atemu. The little white runt was hidden beneath his paws in seconds. His heartbeat was the only sign that he existed, moving too quickly for his eyes. He snarled and lowered his jaws, thinking quickly.

A yowl hit the air, all of them freezing for a split second.

" _Anzu_!" Yugi cried in pure joy. His tail twitched happily, a foot thumping against the ground in excitement. The cheetah came as swiftly as the wind. She knocked Mai aside with a nimble paw. The vixen snarled and rolled with the impact. She twisted and lay on her stomach. A warm, golden-colored half-grown lioness came running after her. She stopped a few feet away from Akefia and Yugi still playing shadow.

Atemu's tail rose abruptly in warning. A low, hideous snarl began to bubble forth. The air grew thicker for a moment. His fur rose in a bristle. The lioness was frozen, staring at Yugi in shock. Then her head turned to the wolf. She backed up a step, surprised by his aggression. But she still lowered her head to gape in shock at the sight of Yugi beneath the coyote's paws.

"I was wondering what had happened to you two," Anzu hissed, tail lashing before she turned to Yugi and then Atemu. Her bright blue eyes flickered back and forth between them and her amazement was not lost to either of them as she took in the small rabbit. "You have not been around as dawn has been rising for the last three days. And the reason is the one that should have been the most obvious to the rest of us."

The black wolf ignored her statement. He merely watched as she batted Mai again with her claws. The vixen remained on her belly, sneering at her. He watched her eyes burn with fear. Then he turned around to address his shoulder wound instead. Yugi was perfectly fine where he was hiding. Akefia was no match for his partner. He could never _hope_ to possess such cunning.

"You have our most sincere apologies," he addressed her quietly. His wound burned as his tongue passed over it. The grains of sand made his skin ache and feel alight. He passed his tongue over it once more. The blood coated his senses and made him want to cry out in pain. He wagged his tail once, however, and then turned away again. He lowered his head, chin near the ground, and peered at his mate curiously. His eyes were on the small rabbit immediately. The lunar spirit was watching him already. He had poked his head out from under the coyote's belly. Atemu nodded once to make the rabbit spring forward. He moved as swiftly as a shooting star might, and huddled at his tail, pressing into his flank gently. "We were…held up."

Akefia bared his teeth at the smaller spirit but Yugi was no longer paying him any attention. He was hoping more than ever that there was a pool nearby. He wanted the blood from his mouth. He wanted that as soon as possible. Atemu twisted around to look him over, at first for harm, and then with amusement. His tongue came out with pure affection, running over his nose and his head before gliding over his back. The rabbit melted at the sensation, leaning upwards to meet his touch more fully, shivering with obvious pleasure. The canine continued to groom him, sorting some of the dirt from his fluffy white coat as he wrapped a paw around his torso to pull him closer still. Yugi pressed an ear against the center bone of his chest, listening to his heart which pounded a little harder at his touch.

"I'm sure the council will _love_ to hear about this." The cheetah paused after a moment, flicking her tail thoughtfully as she looked at them. "But first you two should probably at least establish your territory, yes?"

Yugi did not even have a moment to blink. Teeth caught his scruff so suddenly that he swayed with the movement. He dangled from his jaws easily, blinking at the world as it passed around them swiftly. His trot was easy, his limp forgotten, but the pain in his shoulder made him slightly unsteady. He thought to say that he could go on his own. But the thought of being separated from him, even from this uncomfortable sensation, made him swallow such words. He did not want to be away from him, even if it was only to run at his side, and he knew the other well enough that he understood he was simply trying to keep him as close as possible.

They stepped forward through the trees into a place where the grass was but mere strands of bright green. They crunched under his paws softly and swayed as if their exhales were the very influence of its domain. He wrinkled his nose, watching as the pools of water came forward in his vision. They were mere ripples of magic, the thinnest of barriers that held the worlds apart, where the birds were said to be able to touch the spirit realm should they only drift close enough. When the wolf landed on the surface of it, power surged forward, the magic he possessed coming in gentle waves. They spread outwards, growing dark with his presence, and glittering shards of bright white blinked to life as the stars began to form once more. Splashes of blue and brushstrokes of vibrant, lavish violet began to spread amongst the darkness, and a mass of bright silver and white began to form beneath his paws in a spiral as if his power were centered in each of the immense stars. Beneath him, the moon began to grow from a sliver into the immense sphere of light it had always been formerly, sparkling and giving off such a glow as to make the rest of the sky almost dull.

"This is the biggest reflection I've ever seen…"

Atemu chuckled against his fur. "You always say that," he reminded him teasingly, not pausing in his brisk pace. Yugi watched as more of the pool grew dark, shimmering with the beautiful glitter that was the stars, unnamed galaxies bursting with vibrant purples and blues so mesmerizing he wished he could stare into them forever. The moon shone in a lively but pale silver and white, golden around the edges as if reflecting his happiness, but shadowed deeply with the wolf's grip on him. His own form was a large pocket of gray in the middle of the large sphere, stretched out and dark in the way it rested there.

The red-eyed canine leaped nimbly, his limp nearly nonexistent, onto a small ledge of grass that grew in the midst of the sky barrier. He was placed down immediately and the wolf cast one cautious, suspicious glance around before lying down heavily. Yugi snuggled into him without hesitation, scrambling to his side to press firmly against his fur. The long guard hairs tickled his nose but he resisted the urge to sneeze, instead breathing in firmly the scent of water and ice and starlight that was offered him with the close proximity. He listened again to his heart as it beat in that familiar, gentle rhythm that always managed to put him to sleep and calm his worries. Atemu moved only enough to drape his tail over his own nose, covering the small rabbit as he shifted to press further into his fur until he was sure he could not get any closer without having to completely merge with him. For a moment he was still, and then the wolf shifted, drawing his long legs into himself, his paws tucked as his head turned towards him. His tongue passed over his shoulder, trailing along his neck, a pointed gesture for him to turn his head, and he did so in puzzlement.

For a moment he could not tell what was happening. A hot breath passed over his skin, his partner's nose wet and cold but with underlying warmth that made him tremble with approval. And then his forehead burned, tingling. His skin let out a soft sizzle like meat when the humans placed their meals in fire. A burst of pain and pleasure surged through him all at once and for a moment he was confused about which to focus on, whether he could even do so.

Atemu pulled his nose away after a moment, watching him closely. Yugi blinked wide eyes, startled as the sensation ebbed away, a dull ache burning on his forehead before it too was gone. The spirit of the night sky continued watching silently, awaiting a statement as the smaller reached up to touch his forehead with a small paw. He could feel it in that familiar shape, but it was more believable when he saw it in the other's eyes. Those red orbs were staring so intensely that he could see his own reflection in his pupils, where they glittered with small speckles of light like his pelt and the sky beneath them. He was a small white smudge, painted silver and gray rather than glowing like his returning magic, but he was still there. And he recognized the shape more firmly. It was a star, engraved in red, in the center of his forehead.

"Atemu…"

"A mark to show a lesson well learned," the wolf said softly, gently.

Yugi wanted to apologize for a moment, but then nodded in return. His partner would not care to hear him say he was sorry. He had already said it in the realm below and they were no longer there. Atemu had forgiven him, he realized, somehow, despite his common display of holding aggressive grudges towards others. The small rabbit leaned forward, pressing his nose to the canine's, and then nodded again. He snuggled firmly into his side once more, feeling as if maybe he had somehow strayed from it, and closed his eyes. He was half-asleep even as the wolf began to bathe him with long, soft strokes of his gentle tongue.

Yugi fell asleep to his heartbeat, firm and gentle, in his ears, and melted pleasurably with the sensation of the soft touch of Atemu's affection. He woke later, however, to the black wolf's nose burrowing into his shoulder fur, breath hot against his skin as he exhaled. "Come on, little moon," he murmured softly, his words making his fur shift and the hot air brush firmly against him once more. "We have to go."

He yawned and fluffed his fur up as Atemu pulled away just enough to allow him to stretch and shake himself out. Tiredly he reached up to rub his paws over his face, leaning back on his haunches and squeezing his eyes firmly shut. "Where are we going, Atemu?" he mumbled, for a moment wishing for nothing more than to burrow into his side again and sleep until the days and seasons passed.

"We have to find out what will happen to Akefia, Imori and Mai," the wolf yawned loudly, turning his face away with the movement. Yugi opened his eyes, pulling his paws away, and remained sitting upright as he admired his long teeth. His entire muzzle was open, each of his teeth showing, and his tongue curled along his fleshy gums, which were no longer as white as his fur but beautiful pink again. He relaxed at the sight, relieved by the change, and watched as Atemu flexed his toes and then sank his nails into the dirt with a lazy movement. His legs quivered with his weight for a brief moment, not wobbly but stiff from his position. The change in his stance was keenly apparent and the rabbit wanted to dance around him happily at the sight. He quivered gently in place instead, however, and watched him as he shook his pelt out sloppily before turning to him with a lazy toss of his head.

His jaws opened, snagging him from the side gently, and Yugi settled comfortably in his grip. His breathing was slow and even enough to pull at his senses, lulling him towards a half-asleep awareness. He stretched only enough to go limp, and Atemu tightened his grip slightly, keeping him in place as he carried him towards the council's meeting room.

Akefia, Imori and Mai were kept by the hearth, all three of them appearing ruffled and unhappy. As they entered the room, several heads turned, but some ignored them in lieu of watching the three perpetrators before them. Atemu placed Yugi gently into the seat beside him and then leaped into his own position, watching with keen eyes. His tail wrapped around his paws as he raised his head, turning his attention only towards the owl whom he nodded at to begin. Immediately bickering broke out, loud and raucous enough that Yugi felt himself growing uneasy even being exposed to. He found his form changing before he considered it, but no one seemed to notice it, though Atemu tipped his head only a small degree towards him.

The meeting's argument grew to the sound of snarls that rivaled the volume of thunder. Even his partner was surprised, eyes widening only minutely as they continued spitting at one another furiously. Seth and Jonouchi were fighting once more about positions on whether it was or was not Atemu and Yugi's fault that it happened. Kris and Anzu were arguing avidly on their behalf, Jonouchi trying to remain neutral but failing miserably for the most part. He had always been one of Yugi's closer friends and had been one of the first to actually speak to him aside from Atemu and Seth who had hated him instantly. Honda was trying to calm their fighting somewhat, Isis was working to play devil's advocate, and Atemu was silent beside him.

It was law that none of the accused or involved were to speak. Yugi watched Atemu with a cautious expression, unsure of what more to do with himself. The wolf, however, merely tilted his head and flicked his ears lazily. He did not care to truly pay more attention than necessary, watching and listening. The lunar spirit momentarily considered changing to his own true form but then turned away immediately. Atemu was a wolf, with a build that was intimidating and beautiful, and no one would challenge him as they would his tiny white stature.

"Well…that went just as expected," Atemu mumbled later as they treaded forward to catch up with Anzu and Kris to return to their duties of their rotations. Yugi was hopping along beside him, lazy with happiness and warmth, and the black wolf had a leisurely stride for him to keep pace with. He was completely recovered, and the fluidity that his movements brought to his glistening pelt made Yugi feel ready to burst with pure ecstasy.

"Yeah," he agreed enthusiastically, though he paused to yawn and cast a lazy glance over at him , Imori and Mai had been dismissed from the heavens altogether, and when the coyote had dared to argue, the allowance of one to hunt him down and kill him was declared. He had been shocked by that statement, more so when they were not punished either despite the knowledge that it had been _Atemu's_ choice to go after him.

The argument that had ensued due to the coyote's snarl of indignation had caused an uproar. Anzu had immediately leaped to his defense. She'd said that of course he went after him, the moon depended on the night and the creatures below the heavens needed the moon for light in the darkness. Seth had sprung forward with the fact that it was merely lust for Yugi's body that had brought Atemu to follow him. He said that the balance between the night and moon had nothing to do with his reasoning. Honda had spoken that perhaps it was a partial reason for him but that his devotion to Yugi had caused him to follow. Most of the others thought that it showed far more on their behalf if that was one of the reasons. Others said that it was blatant stupidity as most of them refused to take partners as they had.

Seth's argument had been the most predictable. It had always been clear that he had hated their union for whatever reason. The bear spirit had called them weak on several occasions. But he had never been antagonistic until it was time to cast vote of what should be done with them.

Atemu pressed his nose into his shoulder briefly and then licked his ear before leading the way forward once more. His tail moved in a brief wag, eyes bright, and his attention flickered to Yugi momentarily as the smaller spirit continued happily bounding at his side. His lazy pace made the wolf want to plop down with him between his paws and rest all over again.

It occurred to him that he could see why Mai might have wanted so desperately to leave the heavens for the sake of having kits. He himself would have done anything to have his children back, or to be able to actually grant Atemu that privilege of offspring. And she was not as miniscule as the others who were so easily replaced when they gave in to their own whims as desired. She had been the spirit of autumn and her absence would have been particularly worse than that of the lightning spirit or even his and his partner's own.

And the fact that she had been so easily overlooked after using such magic to bring Imori back had upset her much further than her usual anger would have allowed. She'd grown bitter, frustrated that because of her rank no one had questioned her use of power. But she had been there even as long as Atemu and it had been clear that she was detrimental to the realm below, so no one had thought to bring up her wrongdoings.

He frowned but hurried to the wolf's side before he might notice that he was not there. They were still settling back into their patterns of following Anzu and Kris, both of them keeping time with each other so that the moon and night were never missed again. And on those walks, he kept constant vigilance with Atemu, both of them watching for the three of them. He was sure his reasoning was different than his mate's, seeing as he was simply curious as to whether Mai might have gotten what she wanted. He knew, however, that no such desire had ever crossed Atemu's mind.

Rather, he was always ecstatic to point out just how their punishments were treating them.

"Akefia must always look over his shoulder!" he said joyfully at his side as they passed over the barrier and watched their magic begin to blend and surge forward. "He's so fearful that he is actually going to be hunted down! And now most of his own species have been doing the same. They flee away from others and then look over their shoulders as if they are food!"

Yugi could not fault him for his exuberance in announcing such a thing. He himself still smiled and snickered whenever he was given the delight of seeing him there in the world below. He always looked over his shoulders. But he was thinner now, and his silver and white pelt was hardly beautiful. It was ragged, his cheeks sunken at the worst of times and unusually rough at the best.

"And Imori continues to take refuge in the trees to shield himself from everyone else. He tries so hard to fly farther and for so much longer, as if he still has his magic!"

He smiled and shook his head in amusement. He still did not know what had caused him to be banned from the heavens in the first place. But he knew for a fact that he did not have to worry that it would stay hidden forever. At some point his partner would tell him.

"And Mai is always wandering and never stays in one place."

Yugi frowned at this, thinking to open his mouth and ask him why there was such enjoyment to be found in that. All she wanted was a family, and no one could fault her for that, could they? But the question did not come forth as a voice cut in.

"I see that you are watching them."

Both of them stopped short. Atemu's head snapped around. His tail bristled faintly. Yugi blinked stupidly at the sight that greeted him. Seth was massive in his bear form, almost three times the size of the black wolf, with the whitest of fur he had ever seen. The winter spirit had a wide and fierce looking jaw, one that could put even the canine's to shame. And his paws were massive; around the size of Yugi's body altogether. He moved through the undergrowth almost silently, and his icy blue eyes were glittering fiercely.

"But, in reality, you should be watching yourselves. Do not make that same mistake again. The next time one of you ventures into the realm of reality and forsakes their duties, it will be the _last_. I will see to it that you both are put under the same status of exile as they are."

The wolf's long, straight tail came straight up in warning. His lips pulled fiercely backwards, baring his teeth and chomping them furiously. His fur lifted in an angry bristle. His shoulders grew rigid, squared, infuriated. "Watch your step, Seth. You are accusing unjustly. The punishment is equal to that of attempting to kill a fellow spirit," he spat, pricking his ears and angling his body enough to shield his partner.

Yugi pressed his pink nose into the canine's leg. His eyes were wide, horrified, and he fought away the urge to cower before the massive form of the bulking bear. Atemu growled softly in acknowledgment of his touch, of his fear, but did not surrender his aggressive stance. His tail lowered only slightly, his expression clearly furious. "There is nothing to worry about, Seth. I swear that it will never happen again," he muttered softly.

"It had better not." His eyes lowered sharply down to the small rabbit. At first they were scornful, arrogant, and then his gaze grew stunned. The soft red mark of the star in the center of his forehead was a pulsating red in his blue gaze. "See to it that you keep your word."

Yugi nodded. Atemu snarled angrily. Seth narrowed his eyes. The wolf bared his teeth, growling louder, and then abruptly shook himself. All signs of aggression drifted aside from him. A simple flick of his ears was the only indication that he noticed the other spirit's departure. "Ready to go, little moon?" he asked softly, lowering his head to nudge his cheek and then lick his forehead playfully.

"Of course!"

"How about we play a game of shadow on the way there?"

Yugi wrinkled his nose for a moment and then bounded to take his place under his stomach. "Okay."

Atemu started forward and spun around to face him, the movement too fast for him to even react to before his eyes widened. He wasn't just talking about a fun game. His nose twitched playfully; he wanted to play at dominance tonight.

The rabbit shot forward and past him, the wolf bounding after him.

All Yugi could think about was just how funny it was that the night really was chasing the moon.

* * *

 **I read somewhere that it was believed that the surface of the moon looked like a rabbit sitting up on its haunches from the shadows of craters. Anyways, so some people believed it to be a rabbit spirit or that it was good luck if you could see the rabbit on the full moon.**

 **Also, imagine Akefia as about two feet in height and around four and a half feet long. Wolves average at two and a half feet tall and five to six feet long. Coyotes are much smaller, at one and a half feet tall and only four feet long. Since Akefia is much larger than the average coyote, his dimensions are as such. That puts him at a considerable challenge for Atemu.**

 **In Native American legends, most all of the animals were able to turn human in order to teach them things that they needed to learn before they could prosper. So each of them could come about the humans in their own form and give them the guidance they needed at that time.**

 **As for an explanation for their magics, Atemu's is actually much less than even Yugi's. His is more geared towards teaching and fighting, while Yugi's is cunning, trickery, speed, wisdom, and things of that nature. Akefia's is a combination of both, though his is also more cruel or righteous depending on the story he is featured in.**

 **I don't really remember all of the legends I read. Honestly, _Chasing the Moon_ has been sitting around on my hard drive for a PRETTY LONG TIME now, so I figured, hey, why not go ahead and post it? I figured better late than never. So, anyways, one of the most prominent I read was that a raven spirit was stolen from (?) and went back to retrieve it from the human who took its treasure. But the human refused to give it and I believe they swallowed it in order to make sure that the raven never got it back (?). So the raven used his magic to become the tea leaves at the bottom of the woman's cup. When she swallowed the tea and the tea leaves, he used his magic to impregnate her and she gave birth to him in which he stole his treasure back. It was really influential to the story but it also kind of freaked me out so I kind of read it once and was so grossed out that I never went back to read it again. **

**Anyways, I figured that between the three trickster spirits (coyote, raven, fox), it would be easy for them to influence Yugi's discovery of the garden and the scents that he would smell while there. Between them, I figured they would have enough power to confidently trick Yugi into thinking Atemu to do those things they accused him of, because the number one sense for most animals is their ability to smell. And if Yugi had not constantly already been exposed to taunts and rumors about Akefia and Atemu being together formerly, he would have failed to have a reason to flee as he did.**

 **Also, in case it was more just in my head that the dialogue made sense, when Yugi says he could never forsake Atemu after basically doing just that when he fled, when he looks into his eyes and he tells him how much he's gone through in order to find him, he realizes it and feels terrible. Then he also realizes that he would never abandon Atemu again, regardless of if he returned to the heavens and Yugi remained below if his magic left him. He'd TRY to at least remain there for Atemu and accept him, even though the influence of the world below would have eventually changed him completely into the regular rabbit.**

 **So, that would basically be the explanation for anything I didn't think to mention before. I probably forgot something, but unless you write me the question, I probably won't have the answer for you. *shrugs* So, yeah, that's the end of _Chasing the Moon_. Thanks to anyone who took the time to read it, regardless of whether you reviewed or faved or followed. **

**An update for anyone interested: I'm not sure what other stories I might be posting at the moment. I have three different one-shots I am going to be looking at soon enough, two of them humor and one of them more season 0 craziness. Then I _am_ finished with _Behind You_ 's sequel, but I'm still waiting on feedback with it before I do anything with it. I'm also about twenty-nine percent through with the werewolf multi-chapter story. I'm going to be starting on like three other stories, hoping to update _Umbral Oath_ and _The Distraction_ at some point, and I am GOING TO start posting the stories back on Archive of our Own because I totally forgot that I had an account there somehow and recently remembered when someone commented on _Simple_ and I went "Oh...my...gods...OOPS!". I also started tackling _Simple_ 's sequel again, but it's slow going because it's seriously biting me in the butt. **


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